Studying has it's Perks
by TruBearshark
Summary: With a week left before their final exams Mina realizes she needs more individual attention to pass. So she asks the one person she knows that will be up for the job, Izuku Midoriya. When she struggles to understand the material he thinks up a way for her to buckle down and prepare for the upcoming tests.
1. Ideas, Studying, and Shakes

Mina listened as her friends talked about how excited they were to be tutored by Momo, and how cool her place was going to be. She was a little hesitant though. She trusted Momo to do a good job; she was top of the class after all, but with four others Mina wasn't sure just how much individual attention she'd get. Being at the bottom of the class she knew she'd need it. Looking at the other students who were at the top of her class she tried to think of who she could ask for one on one help.

She immediately crossed Bakugou off the list as he was already going to help Kirishima, and honestly she didn't feel like tolerating his attitude more than she had to. Next to go was Iida. While Mina knew the class president would put his all into helping her; she also knew their personalities would clash, and they might not get much done. Todoroki had warmed up to the rest of the class since the sports festival, but he would probably say no if she asked. That left Midoriya; which made Mina smile. Midoriya was smart enough that he knew his stuff. Patient enough to walk her through the material. His thoroughness was well documented so even if Midoriya had to pound the books into her head Mina would learn the material. Finally the boy was cute enough that when her bad study habits kicked in she had someone fun to mess with.

Mina looked around to see if the green haired boy was still in the classroom, and saw that he had just walked out the classroom door. Quickly giving her friends a goodbye she gathered her things and moved to catch up with him. "Hey Midoriya wait up! Can I talk with you for a minute?"

Izuku jumped when he heard her calling him. Clearly he hadn't expected anyone to stop him as he was leaving school. Turning to face her confusion was clear on his face when he saw who had stopped him. Mina didn't blame him for being confused they hardly talked outside of class. "A-ashido?" Izuku took a second to calm himself. "What do you need?"

Mina replied between breaths as she had just ran after him. "I wanted to see...if I could ask you a...big favor." Izuku nodded to show he was willing to listen. "Do you think you could help me study for the exams?"

Her request confused Izuku. "Weren't you going to be tutored my Yaoyorozu; why do you need my help too?"

"Because as much as Yao-Momo would help my grades I'm still worried about how she'll split focus between everyone she'll be helping. Frankly I'm surprised I was above Kaminari at all so I'm going to need some serious one on one help, and I was hoping that you'd help me?" She knew it was playing dirty but she decided to give him the best puppy dog eyes she could; not aware Izuku had already decided to tutor her the second she asked for help.

"I-I'll tutor you A-ashido just stop giving me that look." Mina was so overjoyed that he'd agreed she started to do a little dance in the hallway getting stares from the handful of students loitering in the hall. "Ashido calm down it's not that big of a deal." Izuku was beginning to become embarrassed by how many people were watching them now.

"Of course it is, not everyday does a cutie like you agree to teach me." Mina almost broke out laughing at how fast Izuku's face turned pink. "Oops did I say that out loud?" Unable to speak Izuku nodded at her. "Hehe relax Midoriya just teasing you a little. Let me see your phone so I can give you my number, and we can figure out how to schedule the next week of studying." A quick registering of numbers later, and the two parted ways with the promise of talking later that day. Mina now knew she had to break the news to Momo. She hopped the other girl wouldn't take it too hard.

Izuku settled into the study room he managed to grab in the library not that far from UA, and got his notes ready while he waited for Mina to arrive. They had to work on some of the tougher subjects while they had the time on the weekend, and then once school started again use that time to cover the other subjects. Izuku was concerned at how well he'd be able to teach, and how well Mina would do. He was confident that they'd both manage that come the time of the exams next week she would pass though. Hearing his phone go off he saw a text from her letting him know she made it to the library. So he went to find his temporary student. Spotting her at entrance he got her attention and showed her to the study room. "Did you have trouble finding this place?"

"Nah your directions were perfect. Good job getting a room by the way. So let's get cracking teach!" Doing his best to ignore the nickname Izuku went over how they'd study once more. He would go over everything that was expected to be covered on the written exams; once they finished the review Mina would take a mock test. Then they would fix any mistakes she made, and repeat until she passed. Izuku had decided to start with her weakest subject, math, would be a good starting point. Mina was ready to show those dumb numbers who the real number one was.

Several hours later the numbers had revealed that they were still on top when it came to Mina. She had been stuck on the same problem for an hour now, and nothing she did gave her the right answer and she was frustrated beyond belief now. "Dammit why won't this stupid equation work! What the hell am I doing wrong!"

Izuku sighed at the pink girls outburst. This was the third time she'd made that complaint, and he had no idea how she kept getting it wrong. His own frustrations were beginning to boil over too; no matter how much he explained how the equation worked Mina still had yet to get it right. He wouldn't take it out on her though as he knew she was trying her hardest, but they were both nearing their wits end on how to figure their respective problems out. Izuku decided to watch how she was working maybe that was where the answer was. Then like the fog had cleared he noticed what may be the problem.

Mina would take her time during the first few parts of the problem. Once she neared the end she had a bad habit of rushing through the rest, and started a domino effect of mistakes. Izuku couldn't believe he hadn't noticed this issue sooner. Now he need to figure out how he could make her slow down, but first he felt they both could use a break. "Ashido, I think we both could use a ten minute break. Why don't you go stretch your legs for a bit while I think of something." She tried to tell him she didn't need a stinking break, but he was surprisingly adamant that they stop so she decided to take a trip to the restroom.

Splashing some water on her face Mina looked at her reflection in the mirror. "This couldn't be going worse." She only had herself to blame too as Izuku was the perfect tutor in her mind. His notes were so detailed and organized she had no doubt she was learning something, but she was having so much trouble applying it to the mock exams he had her do. Izuku also had the patience of a saint in her mind. She had lashed out several times in the last hour, and all he did was smile and ask if she wanted him to go over the notes again. Once this was done Mina promised to give him the biggest thank you in her life; she just had to make it though today and tomorrow, and hopefully it'd be smooth sailing for the rest of the subjects.

When Mina walked back into the room she noticed Izuku had a big smile on his face and honestly it made her feel a hell of a lot better. Maybe a little teasing would lift her mood a bit more. "That smile means you either figured out what I'm doing wrong, or that librarian with the short skirt walked by. I really hope it's the former." Mina had decided she liked getting Izuku to react like this; she found it cute how he'd wrap his arms around himself in embarrassment.

"A-ashido! T-that wasn't why I was smiling! I f-figured out what you were doing wrong, and a way to stop it from happening again." He watched as she sat in her seat ready to hear what he figured out. "I noticed you have the bad habit of once you get part way through the math problems you begin to speed through the rest of it so you can move on to the next one. I know it's easier said than done, but you're going to have to take your time with the next test as it is the last one I prepared for today."

Mina looked at her tutor with a blank expression before blinking. "Oook so how do you figure you'll get me to focus and break this habit?" When a blush started to form on his cheeks Mina found that she was going to like whatever idea he thought up.

"Well I figured that if you managed a passing grade on this test, and any of the tests I give you the rest of the week. I'd reward you by doing whatever you wanted after our study sessions." Izuku paused so what he was offering could sink in. "Within reason of course and I want to be able to veto the choice if it's something I'm not comfortable with. So what do you think?"

The pink girl was shocked at what Izuku was offering. He was already doing her a huge solid by tutoring her, and here he was offering to do more for her if she could buckle down and focus. "Well Midoriya you drive a hard bargain but I'm game. I hope you are ready for this cause 'The Alien Queen' is going to pass no problem this time." Mina was feeling her confidence from earlier return.

"Wait I thought your hero name was Pinky though?" was Midoriya's innocent response as he handed the mock test to her.

"Sh-hut up Midoriya and give me that."

An hour passed, and Mina was waiting for Izuku to finish grading the mock exam. She had done her best to take her time; made sure she was doing the math equations properly, but she knew she had still gotten some wrong hopefully not enough to fail was all she hoped. The waiting was beginning to make her anxious. Izuku put his pencil down and let out a sigh. "So Midoriya how did I do this time?" His silence was beginning to drive her mad.

Izuku decided to drop the charade, and gave her a smile. "You barely passed, but you did it!" With that Ashido let a loud yell out that made Izuku glad these study rooms had a slight degree of sound proofing, or the librarian would probably be kicking them out over her excited cheers. "Hey now Ashido calm down we still have a lot for you to work on; this is still just day one after all." He hated to be a party pooper but he needed her to calm down. "That can wait till tomorrow I guess though. So any idea for your first request?"

"You bet I have an idea. While I was walking here I noticed an arcade, and I want to relax with some games. You know what they say 'all work and no play make Jack a dull boy'." Izuku gave her a blank stare, and under his breath she could hear him say 'who's Jack?'. Clearly he had never seen The Shining. "Just a movie reference Midoriya now let's go last one there is a rotten egg." Mina then threw all her stuff into her bag and sped out of the library.

"Ashido wait, I still have to check out this room, and I don't even know where the arcade is. Ashido!"

Mina was tired both mentally and physically when they left the arcade. The first thing she had wanted to do was play one of the dancing games. Izuku had tried to keep up with her but had bowed out after a few songs, but Mina played until she had left her name on the high scores. After that they tried out just about every game in the place; only stopping to eat some of the food the place supplied. Mina planned on just resting on her bed till she fell asleep but a call from Jirou put a stop to that. "Hey Jirou, what's up?"

"Just wanted to see how your study session with Midoriya went. Did you actually get anything done?" When Mina had told her that she wouldn't be attending Momo's lessons Jirou had been suspicious that she had planned on goofing off the whole time.

"Wow really feeling the confidence girl, but yeah I actually did get a lot done. Midoriya was everything I expected him to be as a tutor." All Mina got in response was a 'yeah right' from her friend. "Hey I'm not lying. He took a lot of time explaining everything for me. Then when I started getting mad he stayed calm, and helped me figure out what I didn't know. He even thought up a great way to make sure I focused."

"Oh? What did he think up? Must be real good if it got you to sit still and study."

"He told me that for every mock test he gave me that I pass he'd do whatever I wanted to after our lessons. It actually worked too. Managed to pass the math test he gave me." The pride Mina was feeling was obvious to her friend.

"Nice so what did you make Midoriya do for you?" Jirou listened to Mina as she explained the trip to the arcade. "Sounds like a good time, and hey if it works for you good. I'd hate to see you miss out on the trip."

"Same it's only been one day, but I'm feeling good about my chances. So how about you; how were Yao-Momo's lessons?" The two talked until they both started to feel tired. "Alright Jirou I think I'm gonna turn in Midoriya is gonna be going over science with me tomorrow, and I'll need all the rest I can get. Night girl."

"Night, and good luck."

Izuku was impressed. While Mina was still struggling with the science problems he had given her; she was doing much better compared to last night. She hadn't passed one of the mock tests yet today, but it was clear she wasn't going to take as long as she had on math to pass. "Alright Ashido that's time lets see how you did on this one." Collecting the paper he began to check it against the answer key he had made.

"So Professor Midoriya did I ace it this time?" Mina's confidence was high today after a good night's sleep, and owing to the fact that only a few questions on the exam required her to do math. She felt like she had today in the bag. Her confidence remained even when she saw Izuku writing on her paper meaning she had not aced it, because she knew he'd make sure she aced the next one. "Sooo, pass or fail?"

The green haired boy shook his head. "Fail, but just barely. You actually got the ones that had you calculate forces all correct so I'm glad you took yesterday to heart, but you struggled to answer too many of the questions that asked you to define things. I'm surprised you got the ones about identifying acids wrong too; figured that would be your ace in the hole Ashido."

Mina blushed at getting questions about acids wrong but had a good explanation for that. "Well it's not like I can produce specific acids with my quirk I really just think of how strong I want them and my body does the rest and gives me what I want. Putting that aside walk me through the rest of my answers, and give me that test I have it this time I know it." Izuku honestly believed her. He was starting to realize that when she truely put her mind on something Mina was determined to get it done. He then whipped out his notes; explained how her answers were wrong, and made sure she knew the right definitions for the terms they would be tested on. A short break later, and Mina had a new test in front of her. Cracking her knuckles she picked up a pencil and got to work.

Izuku took this time to do his own studying. While helping Mina certainly counted since he was still going over the material. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't slowing his pace down so she could keep up. IZuku was so into his own review that he didn't notice that Mina had finished her test, and had been trying to get his attention for a few minutes now. She was amazed at just how fast he was writing in his notebook, but she wanted to see how well her test went. 'Ok Midoriya is in his own world right now. Drastic times call for drastic measures.' Mina got up from her side of the table, and walked over to the boy who still hadn't took notice of her and stood right behind him. She took a moment to collect herself because what she was about to do would embarrass the both of them, but knowing Izuku it would at least be funny. Mina then bent over so her head was level with his. Then gently blew on his ear.

His reaction was instantaneous. Leaping out of his chair, and over to the other side of the table. He turned to face her both sporting blushes although Izuku had a darker blush going. W-w-what w-was t-that for Ashido?"

"I finished my mock exam while you were nose deep in that notebook, and I've been trying to get your attention for like ten minutes dude. Figured I'd play a little prank on you, but I never thought you'd leap over the table to get away from me Midoriya. You're going to break this maiden's heart." Mina knew she was pushing things by laying it on so thick just to hide her own embarrassment from the slightly intimate act, but she couldn't help herself.

Izuku was trying to form a response to that. His mind was just drawing a blank though, and all the words he tried to use came out jumbled. How in the hell was he supposed to reply to that.

Seeing how the boy was reacting made Mina take pity on him. She knew he was bad at dealing with girls, but not this bad. Mina went over to him to give him a hand to help ease his embarrassment. "I'm sorry Midoriya; I crossed a line there. Let's get you back up and working again." He quickly accepted the apology, and once they were seated in their original spots Izuku immediately started checking Mina's answers. He was too flustered to do anything else.

Wanting to break some of the tension she had caused Mina asked a question that had wormed its way into her thoughts. "Say Midoriya is helping me out keeping you from studying the way you normally do? You were going over your notes like three times faster than you did with me, and I can't help but think I'm holding you back."

Stopping his grading to compose himself Izuku decided to be honest with Ashido. "I guess you are just a little." Mina felt guilty at that admision. She had gone and asked him for help, and rather than boost her grades she might end up only hurting his. "But it's not like I mind. You recognized you would need help and asked for it. I respect that. If making sure you pass and get to come on the trip with everyone else means I do a little worse...well I'd make that trade in a heartbeat. I said it the other day in class that I want to go to with everyone; that means you too Ashido."

Said girl had to look away to hide the new blush that had formed after he said that. It was one of the sweetest things anyone had ever told her. 'Man how can he say that with a straight face. If I didn't know better I would have thought he was confessing to me. I swear my heart skipped a beat when he said that.' A small grin started to form on her face. "Thanks Midoriya" a smile and a mumbled welcome was the boy's response.

"Alright Ashido I'm done grading." Looking up from her phone and locking it Mina put her full attention on Izuku. "You got 78% right that's so much better compared to yesterday; well done."

Mina was excited at that grade. While still on the lower end of passing; there was no doubt this time as opposed to yesterday where she had only 'barely' passed Midoriya's math exam. "I hope you brought your wallet today Midoriya cause I'm hungry, and you have to pay cause that's my second request."

Izuku had in fact brought his wallet since he had expected Ashido at some point to ask for him to pay for something. He even asked for an advance on his allowance. Explaining the situation to his mother had been something else. She had practically forced a handful of bills into his pocket through her tears and cries of 'my baby is growing up', and sent him on his way. "I have it. I'm guessing you have a place in mind then?"

"Yup it's a little burger place that does these amazing milkshakes. I've been craving one since I had the idea to make you buy them so hurry up."

"So many options." Was all Izuku could think as he studied the selections for the milkshakes Using the time to stretch his shoulder after being dragged here by Mina. After hearing the alien girl order a 'grasshopper' milkshake he wanted to try something just as intriguing but the flavors were all fairly normal sounding besides that one so he defaulted to getting strawberry. Once he paid he joined Mina in sitting at the counter, and waited in a comfortable silence for their shakes.

A few minutes later and both of their shakes were placed in front of them; his a bright pink with an actual strawberry on the rim of the glass, and hers a light green with a hand full of what looked like chocolate chips on the top. They took a few sips and Izuku had to admit it was a delicious treat. "This is great Ashido! I don't think I've had a milkshake like this before."

"What you've never had a strawberry milkshake before? I know you're a pretty plain guy but I would have never thought you were that plain Midoriya." Was Mina's teasing response in between deep sips of her milkshake.

Izuku's cheeks turned a little red at her comment. "T-that's not what I meant and you know it. Hey if you keep taking such large gulps you are going to give yourself a headache."

"Puh-lease I have these all the time I'm not going to get a dumb brain freeze especially with how hard I've been working the thing the last two days. Watch and learn." Mina looked Izuku right in the eyes for a second, and moved to down the last third of her shake in one big gulp. As if responding to her overconfidence the ice cream god struck her with the worst brain freeze she had ever felt. "Ah damn it. Stupid brain why did you have to call my bluff."

"I suppose you earned that." Normally Izuku wouldn't poke fun at others misfortune, but after being proven right he wanted to show her he could be funny too. "Besides is that ice cream really so good? I never would had thought something called grasshopper would be so tasty that you'd be gulping it down."

"Oh laugh it up dude. If my brain dies of hypothermia it just means you have to reteach me everything." That made Izuku stop his laugh. "And if you're so curious about what it tastes like give it a sip." Mina then shoved her milkshake right into his face. "Go on don't keep me waiting Midoriya."

"Bu-but Ashido t-that would be an…" indirect kiss. The words died in his throat not being able to even speak them with how embarrassed this was making him.

"But nothing Midoriya I'm not moving till you take a nice big sip. Consider it part of my reward!"

The longer she stared at him the more Izuku felt awkward. Screwing his eyes shut he put his mouth on the straw and did as he was ordered taking a big gulp of the milkshake. It took a moment to recognize that despite it being called a 'grasshopper milkshake' it was just mint chocolate chip flavored. After that though Izuku stopped drinking it, and turned to face away so Mina wouldn't see just how much he was blushing. 'Gah how can she ask me to do that with a straight face. Dammit I'm making a fool out of myself with how big of a deal I'm making this.' Opening his eyes he noticed the employee that had made their drinks giving him a thumbs up as if to say 'well done kid.' 'Don't congratulate me for that! We're just friends!'

What he didn't notice though was that Mina was just as affected by their exchange. 'AAAAAAAAH! Why did I practically force him to have an indirect kiss with me! Stupid! He's gonna get the wrong idea if I do stuff like that.'

Coughing into his hand Izuku broke her out of her thoughts. Although neither were looking at the other just yet. "Uhm that was p-pretty good thanks. Though they should just called it mint chip or something less confusing."

"You're welcome; maybe they could call it something else, but that's half the fun. Look at it this way now you can say you had a grasshopper shake and freak people out." Feeling her phone vibrate Mina took a second to see the time and realized she had to go. "Ah if I don't leave now I might miss the train sorry to pull a chew and screw, but I'll see ya tomorrow in class Midoriya."

"Don't worry about it, go, I'll see you tomorrow. Don't forget to bring your notes on history. That's what we're working on after school." Mina gave him a exaggerated wave and thumbs up as she ran in the direction to the station.

Unfortunately on day three of their study sessions Mina would fail to get a passing grade on any of Izuku's mock tests. She was able to answer provide the basic answers to the questions, but when asked to give detailed answers she would flounder. No matter how generous he graded Izuku couldn't pass her. Seeing how dejected Mina was after he finished grading her last test had made him want to pass her, but he knew that wouldn't be fair in the long run. Their teachers would not be that merciful. Izuku did his best to help her afterwards, but he could tell she was beating herself up over this. He had no idea on how to cheer her up. All he could do was hope that this was just a small set back and tomorrow she'd be back in business. After all how bad could she do in Japanese?

Terribly was the answer to that. Izuku was flabbergasted at how poorly she had done. Clearly she was still feeling down over yesterday, and it had caused her to make many mistakes. It was getting him frustrated, not at Mina, but at himself. He had promised to help her, and he was failing to do so. He was running out of ideas on how to help her improve. Science and math being her weakest points; he had figured it would take longer to get them he hadn't really expected her to struggle in the other subjects so much. He could only hope that she'd break out of this funk because they were moving on to english.

In contrast Mina was feeling pretty worthless at what she felt was wasting Izuku's time the last two days. She had been riding so high the first two days that she hadn't bothered to study on her own for the history day. Figuring she could just rely on her friend to correct her mistakes, and she'd get another request in no time. It bit her in the ass though when she realized she had no idea how to properly answer any of the questions. Mina was quick to psyche herself out further when despite her best efforts she failed again. It was with a start she realized that she had begun relying on Midoriya's detailed explanations after the fact that she had forgone doing any real studying of her own. Despite how she felt Mina was confident she'd surprise her tutor when it came to english. Both students vowed to themselves that they would both meet the expectations they each felt the other had in them.

And surprise him she did when she was able to ace the mock english exam he provided her. "Ashido t-this is amazing! You got 100%; I don't think I've done this good on any of the english tests we've had in class." Mina felt herself swell with joy at his words and how proud he sounded of her. "I have to ask how did you do it? What study method did you use?"

"I don't really have a special method or anything Midoriya. I guess...ever since I was a kid I liked watching movies especially the sci-fi ones in their original english. So I guess I just knew the vocabulary." Looking at the green haired boy she saw the confusion and doubt in his eyes. "I'm telling you the truth. On a whim one day I decided to watch the movie Alien in english. and I ended up understanding a little of it so i just kept watching it till I understood. Before I knew it I had watched the whole series in english."

"Well if it works for you Ashido who am I to argue." Izuku just had to sigh at the absurdity of it all. "Anyway I'm glad you are smiling again. You've looked so down the last few days,and I had no idea how to help. Figures you'd do it without me really doing anything."

"Hey no mopping; I did enough for the two of us already. Besides I would have never even got this far without you Midoriya." Mina's words were able to lighten the mood and the two shared a smile.

"Alright Ashido any idea on what you want as a reward this time?" Izuku was willing to go with just about anything she suggested as she had truly earned it after the last few days.

"Well do you think you could start calling me 'Mina' instead of 'Ashido'. I prefer my friends call me by my first name, and I think you've been a real friend to me so I feel weird with you calling me by my family name." Mina could see that Izuku was flustered by this request. Mostly cause he hadn't expected such a simple request. So he might need another push to break his politeness. "Besides you call Tsuyu by her first name so I figure you can do the same for me right?"

Izuku had expected many requests but being told to call a girl by her first name was not one of them. She made a good point even if he still messed up and called Tsuyu 'Asui' on occasion. It would be tough, but Izuku knew he could do it. "Sure thing Ash- I mean M-mina." He barely caught himself before calling her Ashido, and had basically mumbled out her first name but he had called her Mina.

"There you go! Not so hard was it? From now on I will only respond to 'Mina' so make sure you practice saying it mister!"

"Understood M-mina!" Izuku practically stood up in salute to her tone of voice. They both left the library soon after both feeling warmth that wasn't because of summer's heat.

It was the last day before the exams were set to begin, and Izuku had decided that they would just do an old fashioned review rather than any last minute cramming. He would be able to answer any final questions Mina had. Izuku was proud of how far his temporary student had come in the short amount of time; he had his doubts at the start, but Mina had surpassed his expectations. He was also happy he had gotten to know the pink girl a little better over the last week, and had found himself enjoying hanging out with her and he was hoping they could continue after the exams. That said Izuku had noticed that as the time passed on their last lesson the more Mina seemed to withdraw into herself.

In previous lessons she would crack jokes whenever she could, grumble at the difficulty of a problem, and in general just had an energy around her that made these sessions fun for the both of them. Now she hardly joked even when he tried to set her up for them, barely spoke unless it was a question, and that fun energy had vanished. With the silence finally getting to him Izuku decided to find out what was bothering his friend. "Hey Mina, I'm feeling pretty good about tomorrow how about you?"

Mina looked up at the green haired boy and sighed at his question. "Not feeling good at all about tomorrow." She the looked back down at her notes from class taking note of just how many doodles she'd drawn in the borders today.

"What why? You've been doing great in our study sessions I'm sure you will be able to pass."

"That's just it! I've only been doing so well here. In class I can still hardly answer any questions, and I leave class feeling more confused than ever. I'm only doing well because you take time to dumb everything down to my level even if you'd never admit to it." Izuku was shocked by the accusation, and tried to tell her he hadn't dumbed anything down for her but she cut him off. "Midoriya you have to explain stuff to me like five times. Even if it wasn't on purpose you must of dumbed stuff down to get it through my thick skull." She finally met his gaze and Izuku was shocked to see tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. "I just can't help thinking that no matter how much I study the outcome is going to be the same, me failing, and only this time I'm dragging you down with me because I had to be selfish and waste both our times asking for help."

'So that's what this is about. She's still worried about me doing worse because I decided to help her over studying alone.' All Izuku could do was reassure Mina that he would be fine and that she would pass. "Mina I told you a few days ago that I didn't mind dropping down if it meant you would pass and I stand by that. You don't need to worry about me."

Rather that reassure the girl Izuku's words seemed to upset her more. "That's the problem I'm not going to pass Midoriya I just know it!"

"I know that you can pass. I made sure every test you took would be tough for me as well, and you passed three of them. With two of them being the subjects you struggled with the most." That was the truth. He had put a fair amount of effort making sure the tests were challenging to himself before presenting them to MIna.

"Then I went and failed two subjects I thought would be easy. I got all confident with your teaching I skipped on studying at home. I can't study worth a damn on my own I only did so well because of you Midoriya. You and you silly way of rewarding me. That and how bad I wanted to go on the trip with everyone were the only reasons I was able to pass those tests you gave me, and come tomorrow I will only have one of those." Mina finally started to cry at her frustrations. "I don't want to be the only one to not go."

Izuku couldn't believe what he was hearing; this level of self doubt reminded him of how he felt before All Might had helped him, and he would be damned if he let his friend suffer even a second longer. If him rewarding her was part of why she had tried so hard then surely it should help give her the boost again. "Then how about this; when you pass the exam portion of our finals I'll listen to any request you have."

Mina just shook her head. "If I can even pass the one request I can think of you'll probably just veto. Nothing I asked you to do so far made you use it but I've been holding back because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Mina I'm so sure you will pass the exam I promise that no matter what it is you want me to do I'll do it even if it makes me uncomfortable." He then took one of her hands into his and shook it. "See we even shook hands on it so I can't take it back now."

Despite the tears still in her eyes Mina couldn't take just how ridiculous the boy in front of her was. "Pft...Midoriya what was that. I can't believe you just made a deal on your own like that. Hahaha...I hope you know though I'm not going to hold back with my request now.

"It got you to cheer up so whatever it is will be worth it." Mina was touched at how much he cared. She could tell he truly meant he didn't care what it took he wanted her to be happy. While Izuku hadn't been her first choice in tutor she was glad he had been the one she went to for help. They had become better friends over the last week; she had found hanging out with Izuku to be fun, and if Mina had her way they would be hanging out more often. Especially if the warmth she was beginning to feel around him continued to get stronger.

Mood whiplash was all Mina could feel right about now after finding out despite failing the practical portion of the exam that everyone would still be going on the trip. She had started out feeling pretty confident after yesterday's written portion. After Izuku's pep talk, and his offer of a reward she knew she did well on it. Then came the disappointment of failing the practical. Mina had only barley held back her tears in front of her classmates; begging Izuku to tell her about all the fun they would have on the trip. To the joy of Aizawa revealing it was just another logical ruse. Only then had she allowed her tears to fall in relief. Then there was the dread of remedial lessons which would likely be hell. Finally ending back on joy as the class, minus a few stick in the muds, were planning to use the free day to buy the required items on the list UA gave them. So yeah she was feeling drained in just about every possible way, and was ready to go straight home and rest. Then she heard her phone's chime go off. 'Huh who is texting me? I just left the group a minute ago.'

Midoriya: Uhm hey Mina; I know you said were heading home, but if you want could we meet up? I do owe you a reward for passing the written exam...only if you want to that is. It can wait till later if you can't.

She had forgotten in all the excitement of the day that their teacher had told them that everyone had passed the written portion; so that obviously included her. Mina felt herself grinning. This was the cherry on top of everything else. Izuku would do whatever she asked and he couldn't refuse, and she knew just what she wanted.

Mina: I can't believe I almost forgot. Meet me at the shake place we can celebrate there, and I'll tell you what I want and you better be ready to pay up. ;)

Mina could only laugh at her response but she changed directions and rushed to hopefully get to the restaurant first.

"Bout time you got here Midoriya! Any later and the shakes would had begun to melt." Mina had in fact beaten Izuku to the restaurant, and had gotten them both a shake. "This one's yours; consider this a small thank you. I may have failed the practical, but thanks to you I passed the written part. So cheers!"

Izuku took the milkshake offered and clinked his cup against Mina's. "Thanks, but don't discount all the hard work you put in Mina. You had it in you to pass the whole time I just helped a little."

"Please; you helped me a lot. Not just by teaching me, but by letting me cut loose a little afterwards." Mina took a moment to drink a little bit of her shake. "Which brings me to my reward. I really enjoyed going to the arcade with you, getting a shake, and hell even just sitting in that dumb library studying was fun. So I hope your prepared cause you and I are going to be hanging out a lot more."

"Ok so what about your reward? What do you want to do?" Izuku was just a little confused. He would gladly spend more time with Mina, but she hadn't really specified what she wanted them to do together.

"Man for a smart guy you can't take a hint can you." Izuku could only blink in confusion. "I don't have any specific thing I want to do other than hang out more with you after class and stuff. I like goofing off with you dude." Mina could see the dots connecting in Izuku's head but decided to throw him a bone. "But if you need a specific thing tomorrow when we meet up at the Kiyashi Ward how about you and I walk around together? I can use your muscles to carry around all my bags!" She laughed at the indiginat look that flashed on his face. "Just kidding! You should see your face! Really though how about it?"

Izuku only needed a second to decide. "I promised I'd do whatever you asked so I can't really say no, but I'll be honest I want to hang out with you more too. This last week has really fun for me, and I think I was hoping you'd ask for something like this. Besides I've never been to Kiyashi before so it it will be nice to go around with you."

Mina then decided to be a little bold and give Izuku a big hug. "Your the best Midoriya. I'll make sure your first trip to Kiyashi will be unforgettable." She then broke the hug but kept one of her hands on his. "Say would you walk with me to the train station?" Izuku nodded and the two left the restaurant hand in hand excited for what was to come tomorrow and in the future.

AN: This was surprisingly tough for me to write, this was supposed to be the beginning of a relationship between the two and it took me a while to balance their interactions. I'd been sitting on this general idea for a while now but had no clue on what to do for the rewards part, then I read just the fluffiest manga and got the idea for the shake scene and then I was able to flesh out the rest of the story. That manga actually gave me a few ideas to work with and I plan on adapting them in future stories so be on the look out. Lastly I want to thank everyone that has read my last two one shots and everyone on discord for encouraging me and helping me flesh these half brained ideas of mine into reality.


	2. Kiyashi-Ward Ups and Downs

Mina shut the front door to her house, kicked her shoes off, and trudged to the living room. Once there she dropped her bags at the foot of the couch; dropping herself face first into one of the cushions at the same time. A moment passed before she let out a loud frustrated yell.

"Wow that means your date either went really well, or really badly. So which is it?"

Barely lifting her head Mina noticed her mother sitting a few feet away watching a program on the television. Deciding she didn't feel like getting into why she was upset; Mina sidestepped the question. "Hi mom. How were your shows? I remember you said you were gonna use today to catch up."

Mina hopped bringing up her favorite thing would distract her mother. Much like Mina loved sci-fi movies; her mother loved soap operas. Particularly foreign ones. In fact all the Ashidos had equal passions for different media. Her father loved game shows, and was always trying to apply for them. Then there was her older brother; his preference was cooking shows. At least once a week he'd have a new recipe for the family to try.

The older woman saw right through her daughter's obvious attempt though. "Almost done with all the episodes I missed. I haven't deleted them yet in case you wanted to watch them by the way. Now what about that mall date you were so excited about?"

"It wasn't a date Mom!" Was Mina's quick response.

"Oh really? You spent all night telling me how excited you were to show...oh what was his name again Mi something...oh that's right Midoriya! How excited you were to show Midoriya around Kiyashi-Ward."

"Yeah as friends! Besides there were a bunch of my classmates there. We're not like that." Mrs. Ashido decided to give her daughter a break, and not point out how it seemed Mina wanted to say 'yet'.

"Ok so tell me how this 'not a date" went."

Sighing loudly Mina decided to give in. "The afternoon started off well enough. We all gathered in the mall, and chatted for a bit. Once everyone had arrived we figured out where we wanted to shop. Everyone broke up into groups until it was just Midoriya, Uraraka, and me. He asked Uraraka what she needed to buy, and then she ran off screaming bug repellent. Midoriya's face was priceless. He thought he was the bug." Mina took a moment to laugh at the memory.

"So then it was just the two of you. Where did you go?" Mrs. Ashido urged her daughter to continue.

"We actually met up with a few of the others at one of the shoe stores. I needed new outdoor shoes for the trip anyway so it was a good spot to start. I'm glad we went there too; because, I learned something surprising about Midoriya. He apparently has good taste in shoes. The red shoes he always wears are some kind of rare brand. One of the salesmen recognized them, and they spent five minutes gushing over them. After that we hit a couple clothing stores. Then I could tell Midoriya was getting a bit overwhelmed so I took him to the food court to rest a bit. I went to pick us a few snacks, and by the time I get back he was gone. His bag wes still at the table so I decided to wait. Ten minutes later I started to worry. That's when the day went downhill."

"Oh dear what happened?" Mrs. Ashido knew it must of been really bad by the tone of Mina's voice.

"I got a text from the class president telling me a villain had taken Midoriya hostage, and that we all needed to gather up." Her let out a shocked gasp. "Uraraka had found the two, and the villain let Midoriya go after she showed up."

Mrs. Ashido then walked over to Mina, and gave her a big hug. Which Mina returned. "Oh I can't imagine how stressful that must have been for everyone. Was he alright?"

Mina just shook her head. "I don't know. I rushed over, but the police wouldn't let any of us get close. All I could really do was show them my student I.D, and give them Midoriya's backpack. I tried sending them both a text, but they must still be at the station giving statements or something."

"I'm sure he will get back to you soon." Mrs. Ashido felt terrible for her daughter. While Mina was firm in this not being a date; she knew her daughter really enjoyed spending time with the boy. The last week had been constant 'Midoriya this' and 'Midoriya that'. Her daughter might not have fully realised it; but she had. Mina was crushing hard on this boy hard.

Then almost as if her mother had willed it; Mina's phone began to ring. Quickly reaching into her purse Mina fumbled around for her phone. "Oh...it's Uraraka." Mina was torn. She was happy her friend was getting back to her, but disappointed it wasn't Izuku.

"Go on honey answer it. I've still got a few things to catch up on; so go find out what was going on." Her mother then made a few shushing motions with her hands.

Not needing to be told twice Mina clicked 'answer' on her phone, and started walking to her room for privacy. "Uraraka?"

"Mina; sorry about not getting back to you sooner. The police only just brought me back to my apartment."

"Don't worry about it; you could have waited till tomorrow to call me and I'd have understood. That said though could you tell me what happened?"

"Sure one more time couldn't hurt. I was looking for Deku so I could apologize for running off, but when I found him he wasn't alone. I thought it was a friend at first. As I got closer thought I noticed that Deku was really nervous...more nervous than he was the first day of class. Then I saw the guy was holding onto Deku's throat. Right as I started to question what was going on; Deku starts yelling at me to stay away. Before I can even react the guy plays it off like a misunderstanding, but threatens us not to follow him. Deku asks him something about an 'All for One' I didn't understand, and then he was gone. After that I called the police, and asked for someone to call a hero. Oh my god Mina it was awful."

Mina listened in shocked silence. She was glad it had been Uraraka that had found them. It had allowed the situation to de-escalate. Who knew what would have happened had she been the one to find them. Acid likely would have been thrown about. "How was Midoriya doing after that?"

Uraraka's voice cracked a bit as she continued. "H-he started coughing a lot. The villain really had him in a vice grip. Deku seemed fine though when the police started checking him out. I haven't seen him since then though. He was still giving the police a report when was escorted from the station."

"Thanks Uraraka. Midoriya hasn't gotten back to me so I was still in the dark about what happened. At least I know he's ok. Man with the way Midoriya attracts trouble I bet he'll be one active hero someday." Mina's joke thankfully broke the tension, and got her friend to laugh. Mina felt some of her worry fade as she said goodbye to her Uraraka. Now all she needed was to hear from Izuku so the rest could go away.

* * *

It was well into the night before Mina heard from Izuku though. Laying in her bed she heard her phone go off. This time it was a text rather than a call. She would have prefered to hear his voice, but this would do.

 _Midoriya: Sorry to bother you so late, but I only just saw your text from earlier. Wanted to make sure you know I'm home and ok now._

 _Mina: MIDORIYA! I've been waiting to hear from you. So glad to hear from you. Did the police only get you home now?_

 _Midoriya: Oh no...I've been home for an hour or so now. My mom was pretty upset with what happened today; so I've been trying to reassure her I'm fine._

 _Mina: Are you?_

 _Mina was worried her question made him uncomfortable; because, it was left on 'read' with no response for a few minutes. It was the chime of her alert that broke her from her thoughts._

 _Midoriya: ...Honestly I've been better. Shigaraki had me at his mercy, and then Uraraka showed up. I had no idea what to do._

 _Mina: SHIGARAKI!_

Uraraka never mentioned that the ring leader from the USJ incident had been the villain to take Izuku hostage. Mina wanted to be upset by this omission, but today had been such a mess it was understandable.

 _Mina: What did that psycho even want from you?_

 _Midoriya: He wanted to know what the difference between the Hero Killer and himself._

 _Midoriya: Thank you by the way. Detective Tsukauchi told me you gave them my bag. I was worried I'd lost it in the comotion._

 _Mina: No worries, but you're welcome._

 _Midoriya: Sorry our trip to Kiyashi-Ward had to be cut short. I was having a lot of fun._

 _Mina: You don't have to apologize dude. We'll just have to pick it back up from where we left off another day. Deal?_

 _Midoriya: Deal._

 _Mina: Perfect. Now get some rest. I'm sure you're exhausted._

 _Mina: ...and Midoriya I'd glad you're safe...G'd night._

 _Midoriya: Good Night Mina._

Mina set her phone down, and got comfortable in her bed. It hadn't been much of a conversation, but it was enough. Even though it took most of the day she had heard from Izuku. As Mina drifted to sleep she smiled at the ways she thought up to make sure Izuku would be cheered up before their big class trip. She made a promise to herself to do so.

* * *

Izuku on the other hand laid awake in his bed. Staring at one of his many All Might posters he thought about what happened today. He tried thinking up ways he could have avoided getting caught. He kept drawing blanks at what he could've of done differently. Shigaraki had been following him for awhile, and struck at the best possible time. Combined with what All Might said; Izuku realized he simply lacked the experience to have been able to prevent this. 'The fact of the matter was the second Shigaraki threw his arm around me I was done for. I'll have to work twice as hard at this training trip...I never want to be useless like that again.'

Something else was bothering him; it was how he reacted to something Shigaraki had used to threaten his compliance. Even thinking about it now made Izuku go cold.

* * *

 _"I just want to have a little chat. That's it all right? What happens if you show the slightest odd behaviour you might ask? Simple the moment all my fingers make contact with your neck you'll begin to crumble away like dust. A minute later there will be nothing left."_

 _Terrified Izuku attempted to reason with the villain. "I-if you do a hero f-from the crowd with capture you!_

 _In response Shigaraki laughed. "Oh I'm sure I'd be captured quickly. Before that though look around. Anyone here could use their Quirk to stop me, but they won't lift a finger. Why? Because, they are good law abiding people. They have no reason to see you and me as anything else as two friends right now."_

 _Shigaraki then get real close to Izuku's ear. "Hmm I could probably kill twenty...no thirty before being captured. Who knows, maybe I'll find that girl you were with all afternoon. I'm sure she'll be looking for you soon enough."_

 _Just like that any fight that had been left in Izuku vanished. He couldn't risk any of the innocent people's lives. Most of all he'd never forgive himself if somehow Mina got thrown into his mess as well. "Wh-what do you want to talk about?"_

 _"That's the spirit. Let's take a seat over here. For being such a good sport I'll keep this quick. Before you know you'll be back on that date; it'll be like I never even interrupted it."_

* * *

Izuku was confused by how terrified he got at the mere idea that Mina might have been in danger should he push his luck with Shiragaki. Yes they were friends; he was also friends with Uraraka and Iida, and they had been in just as much danger as Mina. Yet it was the pink girl he had only just begun to get to know he had been worried for. It was Mina he had wanted to see while he waited in the Police Station. Then once he had calmed his mother down it was Mina he had thought to contact first. Izuku wasn't sure what any of this meant, but he was determined to find out though.

* * *

AN: Hey there, long time no see! With this all my original one shots now have a continuation. You'll notice that I haven't marked this as complete like I did the other two though. It's because I want to see if I can make this a full _ish_ story. Shooting for about 4-6 chapters. While I feel more comfortable doing oneshots; seeing just how many people enjoy my work makes me want to try pushing my limits a bit. I have a good idea on where I want to take this one, so I should have more coming soon. If this goes well I plan on doing more long term writing. So thanks for reading and all the support you've given so far.


	3. Dirt Beasts, Towels, and Curry Oh My

"Gimme some pocky!" Mina cheered as the bus started moving. To her it wasn't a road trip until she had pocky. She let out a loud "whoop" as Tooru handed her the box of snacks; taking several out, and started eating them all at once.

"Hey leave some for me! Just cause you're pink doesn't mean you can pig out Mina." Tooru gave Mina a gentle bump with her elbow, and tried to get the box back. Mina pulled the box out of the invisible girl's reach; letting out an exaggerated pig squeal. The two started laughing as Mina returned Tooru's pocky.

Mina started to eat her snacks individually, and decided to see what the rest 1-A was doing. On her left Kirishima and Kaminari argued about what song was more 'Summery.' She could hear someone was playing shiritori _badly_. Mina laughed when she saw Iida yelling at someone for standing up on the bus, despite the fact he was also standing. What was really funny was seeing Izuku dodge all of Iida's erratic hand movements.

She paused looking at Izuku, and frowned slightly. After what happened to him at Kiyashi-ward Mina had made it her goal to cheer him up. Even though they had a week between then and now; the two had not hung out once. They had talked over the phone a few times, numerous text conversations, but Izuku had said 'no' to any offers of hanging out after school. Mina had been worried that he'd lost interest in her, and it caused her to snap one night when they had stayed up talking.

* * *

" _It sounds like fun, but I'm sorry I can't go with you tomorrow." Izuku had just turned down yet another offer to hang out. With the class trip only a few days away MIna was getting desperate. With the looming remedial lessons at the camp; it would be unlikely they would have too many chances to hangout by themselves._

" _Why…?"_

" _Mina?"_

" _Why do you not want to hang out with me anymore Midoriya? Are you mad at me or something? I-I just enjoyed hanging out with you Midoriya." Taking Izuku's stunned silence as confirmation. "I'm sorry for whatever it was."_

" _W-what? No! That's not it at all Mina." Izuku was quick to snap out of his silence once he heard Mina apologize._

" _Then why?" Mina needed to know._

" _Because I'm worried about my mom." Mina was confused by the response, but Izuku elaborated. "She was pretty upset by what happened to me the other day. With this trip being a week long I don't want her to spend it worrying if I'm ok. So I decided to do everything I can to relax her. I didn't want to say no to you at all. "_

" _It's ok Midoriya I get it. You must really care about your mother." Mina couldn't believe that they had the same idea; only Izuku wanted to cheer up his mother instead of himself. It was so sweet of him she thought._

" _Yeah she's the best." Mina could tell from the tone of his voice Izuku meant it. "I've done nothing but make her worry since my quirk finally developed…"_

* * *

After that Mina had steered the conversation into happier topics till they both passed out, but what he had said nagged at her. '" _Since my quirk finally developed."_ Izuku had said that he was a late bloomer with regards to his quirk; Mina had never thought too deeply about what that may have meant till now. ' _For a good chunk of his life he thought he didn't have a quirk. With how skittish he was at the start of the year; it doesn't take a genius to see those times weren't good.'_

"You know if you stare at Midoriya any longer; one might get the wrong idea."

Tooru's voice broke Mina out of her thoughts. "W-what? I-I wasn't staring at Midoriya. I was looking at the...magazine he's holding...yeah that's it!" Causing her to panic and hide that she _was_ staring at him.

"Sure you were. Just like you haven't been sneaking peeks at him in class when he's not looking." Mina then felt Tooru lean in close so only she'd hear her. "And by the by looking at the magazine he's holding still counts as staring at Midoriya."

Mina felt her cheeks flush as Tooru called her obvious lie. "How did you notice? I was being super sneaky about it."

"Not sneaky enough for me though. You can never know when I'm watching. Woo~" Tooru's fake ghost noise got Mina to laugh. "Seriously though; you study together for a week, go shopping together at Kiyashi, and I catch you staring at him all week. Did someone develop a crush?"

Tooru was far too excited about this in Mina's opinion. "Wha? No! That's not it at all Tooru. We just promised to hang out more after the finals. Then Kiyashi happened. After that I just wanted to make sure he was doing alright. We're nothing more than friends. He just couldn't go out at all the last week...so I was trying to make sure he was ok." Mina could feel the invisible girl staring a hole through her as she reached for the pocky.

"When you put it like that it totally make sense...that you have a crush on him." Mina spit out the stick of pocky she had started to eat. "If it makes you feel better I've caught Midoriya looking your way a few times too."

"He has?" Mina told herself that it wasn't hope she felt, but simple curiosity.

"Yep. Pretty easy for him too considering you sit up front. So while it might be presumptuous I'd say he's crushing on you too. He does gets this little goofy grin when he looks at you. Kind of like the one he has right now."

"You don't know what you're talking about. We're just friends." Mina couldn't help herself though as she slowly turned to her left, and locked eyes with Izuku. He did have a goofy grin on; one Mina found cute. The both looked away with blushes when they realized they were staring at each other.

"You've got it bad for each other." As Tooru giggled at her predicament; Mina finally conceded to herself that maybe her friend had a point.

"Alright attention everyone." Mina looked up as her teacher called for attention. "We'll be taking a short break in about ten minutes." Mina would be glad to clear her head with some fresh air.

* * *

As the ground swelled up and threw 1-A into the forest; Mina promised that the first chance she got to deck Mr. Aizawa she was going to take it. Everything around her was dirt. She could see some bodies around her, but nothing to identify them. Thankfully the hero, Pixie Bob she recalled Izuku calling her, had made the ground soft for when they landed. It still got everywhere. She was coughing it up when a quiet voice called out to her.

"A-ashido here let me help you up." It was Kouda giving her a hand.

"Thanks dude." He accepted her thanks with a nod. The were dusting themselves off when a terrible roar drew everyone's focus. A pale four-legged monster had come out of the tree line, and was about to attack Mineta.

Kouda was quick to use his quirk to calm it down. "Quiet down my friend! We mean you no harm!" The beast changed its focus, and started to charge at him. Kouda froze when his quirk failed to work.

Mina was trying to figure out what she could do; when she heard another person shout. "It's made of earth!" She watched in awe as Izuku lept into action; Todoroki, Iida, and Bakugou with him. The four together destroyed the dirt beast almost effortlessly.

"Everyone stick together, keep your eyes open, and we'll get through this forest! We need to move fast if we want to get there before twelve thirty!" Iida was doing his job as class president, and getting them organized. Mina was ready to work out some aggression on these dirt beasts.

* * *

Eight hours later 1-A reached the end of the forest, and made it to the Pussycat's lodge. Everyone was tired, dirty, and most importantly hungry.

"Looks like you didn't even get close to making it before lunch. Sorry forgot to mention that it normally takes _us_ two hours." The pro hero Mandalay almost sounded taunting, but Mina was too tired and hungry to care.

"They still got here faster than I expected. My earth devils were taken down easier than I thought possible. These students are quite the cat's meow." Mina felt a swell of pride at the pro's appraisal of their skills. "Especially you four!" Pointing to the four that had first acted at the start. "Could your lack of hesitation come from personal experience? I can't wait to see where you all are in three years; I'm claiming you all now!"

Mina wrinkled her nose in disgust as Pixie Bob proceed to spit on Bakugou, Todoroki, and Iida. When she got to Izuku though; Mina had to bite her lip to stop from telling the pro hero off. She settled with giving Pixie Bob the stink eye as she walked off.

"You know jealousy isn't a good look for you Mina." Tooru laughed as Mina's glare turned to her. "See someone else might step up if you don't act fast~ he is quite the catch."

Mina decided to ignore her friend's last comment. ' _It's not like that. I just don't appreciate an old lady spitting all over my friend...friends.'_ She then watched as Izuku walked up to the young kid that was hanging around. "Who's the kid any way Tooru?"

"Oh I think I heard Mandalay say he was her nephew. She said his name is Kouta."

The two watched as Izuku bent down to Kouta's level, said a few words, and offer a handshake. They watched in shock as the child hit Izuku with a right hook square in the crotch. "Midoriya!" As he fell to his knees; Mina was quick to rush to his side along with Iida.

Tooru shook her head; as Mina fretted over Izuku. "She's got it bad for him." She felt her stomach rumble, and moved to join the rest of the class for supper.

* * *

Mina let out a long sigh as she dipped her feet into the hot spring water. " _Ahhhh_ this feels great. Just what my feet needed."

"I agree, but wouldn't you feel better if you were all the way in the water gero."

"Considering the hell we went through today, and the hell that is to come. I want to take my time and enjoy it as long as I can." Murmurs of agreement came from the other girls as they relaxed.

"We have a motto for times like these when there's a wall in the way! **Plus Ultra!** " A voice broke the peace of the hot spring; sending a shiver down all the girl's spines.

"Ugh was that Mineta?" This was the last thing Mina wanted to deal with. She looked around for something she could throw at him should Mineta poke his head over the wall.

"Mina maybe you should cover up, or get in the water. No reason to give Mineta what he wants." Momo's concerned voice stopped Mina's search.

"Nah; in fact hand me one of those buckets. I'm pretty sure I can peg him with one from here." Just as Mina looked up the wall to try and watch for Mineta. A person wearing a white shirt and red hat popped up from the wall. The next thing they heard was Mineta's scream of anguish; presumably because the person had knocked him off the wall.

"Is that Mandalay's nephew?" Tooru answered all the girl's unasked question; about who had pushed Mineta.

"Hahaha." Mina let out a laugh as her classmates complained about Mineta. She felt the young boy deserved some thanks for taking care of the problem for them. Giving the boy a big thumbs up and shouting. "Thanks, Kouta honey!"

Said boy turned when he heard his name called. Seeing all the girls was too much for him, and it cause him to fall back over the wall into the boy's side. All the girls held their breath when they saw him fall. Mina felt terrible for causing it to happen.

Then they heard someone shout. "Kouta!" Then there was the tell tale noise of someone jumping to catch him. Everyone let out their breaths, but Mina was still staring in shock. She recognized Izuku's voice as the one who had shouted.

She wasn't the only one though; Ochako had noticed it too. "Thank goodness Deku was able to react in time." Before any of the others could ask how she could tell; Mina practically dove into the hot spring.

"Wah! Don't splash everyone Mina." Mina ignored Momo's complaint as she flailed about under the water.

Mina rose out of the water, shook her hair as dry as she could manage, and moved to get out of the bath. "Sorry Yao-Momo, but it was my fault Kouta fell so I want to go apologize." Mina then grabbed her towel, and sped into the girls changing room.

Tsuyu was the first to react to Mina's behaviour. "Did anyone else find that odd gero? Not her wanting to apologize, but everything else about how she reacted there?"

The girls were split on if they agreed. Mina was usually spontaneous and excitable; so they didn't see anything particularly off about how she reacted. Tooru though kept her thoughts to herself. ' _Just friends my ass. You lit up like a Christmas tree when you realized that Midoriya was the one who caught Kouta. Oh is there anything cuter than a girl in love!'_

Mina looked around trying to figure out where Izuku could have gone with Kota. In such a rush she simply threw on a black tank top and shorts before pursuing Izuku. Judging by the puddles of water she figured Izuku had barely dried off as well. Deciding to follow the puddles Mina found herself heading towards the Manager's Office. ' _Ah, makes sense. Probably the best place to find Mandalay. Now should I go in, or do I wait to see if he comes out?'_

She didn't have to choose as Izuku walked out a while she was thinking. Mina felt a massive blush form as she noticed how Izuku was dressed. ' _He's in nothing but a towel!'_ Then there was his muscles; Mina knew he was strong, but couldn't have anticipated just how built he was. She made note to convince him to go shirtless more often; because she liked what she saw.

"Mina? What are you doing here?" Izuku's question snapped Mina out of her daze, and she was quick to reply.

"O-oh hey Midoriya. I'm here for...what was I doing again...Oh right! It was kinda my fault the kid fell off the wall. So I wanted to see how he was. Is he alright?" Mina tried her best to not let her eyes wander. She was surprised at how casual Izuku was acting. He was skittish around girls fully dressed. So being in just a towel should have had him matching her own skin tone, but maybe he hadn't realized yet.

"Kouta is fine. Fainted as soon as he fell I think. I left him with Mandalay and Pixie Bob. What did you do anyway? Izuku was genuinely curious how Mina could have caused Kouta's fall. He figured that the boy had slipped going down the ladder.

"When I saw that he'd been responsible for repelling Mineta I got his attention to say thanks." She could tell Izuku hadn't connected the dots yet. ' _Oh god this is so embarrassing.'_ Mina then turned her head away from Izuku, and bashfully rubbed the back of her head. "And you know...when he turned to look at us he noticed all of the girls...in the buff." The pink girl really hoped he got the message.

Giving Izuku a side glance; Mina noticed the top half of Izuku had turned pink with a blush. ' _Oh thank heavens he got it.'_ Then Mina noticed Izuku give her a quick look over. It was so quick she thought it was her imagination, but then his blush got darker. It was then she realized something important. Since she had been in such a rush she hadn't bothered to properly dry off. Her top, which was normally pretty loose, was now clinging to her.

"O-oh I s-see. That m-makes sense." Unknown to Mina though was the reason for Izuku's blush. It wasn't just because he was embarrassed for making her spell out why Kouta fell. It wasn't just because he had pictured the scene, nor was it because he'd noticed her state of dress. It was because all of those things had reminded him of his own state. " _How the hell did I forget I am only in a towel! Mandalay even just told me off for it! Please please please let me get away with a little dignity.'_

Unfortunately Mina had one way to hide her own embarrassment; teasing Izuku. "Speaking of buff. Holy shit Midoriya! I could grate cheese off those abs." She then gave him a few pokes on his stomach. "You never show off like the other guys, but I should have guessed with your quirk being super strength. What's the secret 100 push ups, sit ups, and squats a day?" The last thing Mina wanted to do was be this close to Izuku, but she was in full panic mode.

"A-a-a-ah U-uhm." Izuku's blush was now a full body blush. To his credit though; he was holding up to the teasing. Even if it was just barely.

"Ehem!" A cough was all it took for the two to snap out of it. Pixie Bob was standing in front of the Management room's door watching the two. Her eyes were sparkling, and she had an almost predatory grin on her face. "Oh my, two kittens flirting in the open. How daring! Now I enjoyed the show, but it's lights out in fifteen minutes. So get a move on."

The two teens didn't need to be told twice, and they ran off. With Mina heading to the girls room, and Izuku in the other direction to collect his clothes.

* * *

The night came and went, and since the break of dawn the students of 1-A had been training their quirks. Each pushing their quirks to their limits in order to strengthen them. 1-B was set to join them any minute now. Mina grunted as she forced a stream of acid from her palms. She was told to raise her own tolerance to her acid. It had involved her spraying her strongest acid at rock constructs until her hands couldn't take it; then using weaker acids to build the tolerance, but not permanently damage herself. ' _Mr. Aizawa said it was like building calluses, but I'm pumping out so much acid I can hardly feel my hands right now.'_ Shaking her hands to try and get some feeling back; she took a quick second to see how all her classmate were coping. ' _You know as much as this sucks; at least I'm not tearing my scalp till I bleed like Mineta.'_

"Alright 1-A ten minute break while we get 1-B started!" The voice of their teacher called out giving momentary respite to the students.

Mina got a better look at everyone, and they all looked worse for wear. She then glanced at Jirou; who was the nearest to her. "Any other time I'd kill for Momo and Satou's training, but right now they both look ready to hurl."

"No kidding. They're both a little green right now. I'm gonna grab some water. Want me to grab you a bottle too?" Jirou noticed how raw Mina's hands looked, and offered to give her some help.

"Please?" Mina was grateful for the offer.

The girl gave her a thumbs up and rushed to get the water in the alloted time. With Jirou gone Mina felt safe to check on Izuku. He was currently using a chunk of Todoroki's ice to cool a nasty bruise on his cheek; courtesy of Tora.

"I guess I Nya-ow why you gave me such a heated look the other day. Suppose it was rude of me to mark your boyfriend. That was just a little joke you know." Mina let out a silent scream when Pixie Bob showed up out of nowhere.

"Pixie Bob! Shouldn't you be with the others helping out 1-B?" Mina then processed the second half of what the older woman said. "He's not my boyfriend. Midoriya and I are regular friends."

"Eraserhead, Ragdoll, and Vlad are all that's needed to figure out what those kittens need to improve. I just provide the training grounds. And really? You two looked a little more than friends to me last night." Pixie Bob raised her eyebrow at Mina's firm declaration.

"It's only been a few weeks since we really became friends. Besides I was just messing with him a little then."

"Alright alright, but answer me this. Would you be opposed to the two of you being more?

"..." Mina's silence was answer enough for Pixie Bob.

The older woman put her gloved hand on Mina's head and ruffled her hair. "Little kitten let me give you some advice. Whether you've known someone a day or a year; it doesn't matter. When you find someone you click with take a chance. Because, you never know what can happen tomorrow." Mina looked up at Pixie Bob, and got the feeling she was talking from experience.

"After training is done today your class is going to be making curry. So why don't you make it while thinking about Midoriya, and make sure he eats from that pot. I bet it will be the best curry he's ever eaten." Pixie Bob then gave her a wink and left; saying she had to prepare some space for 1-B.

"Yo Mina. Here's your water. What was Pixie Bob talking with you about?" Jirou had seen the two talking, but had decided to let the two talk before coming back with the drinks.

"Oh...not much. She was just giving me some advice. Telling me how to deal with the...numbness in my hands." Mina was proud of her quick thinking. Not ready to talk openly about what she was feeling.

Jirou thankfully bought it. "That's pretty cool of her."

"Yeah...it was."

* * *

Mina sniffed the curry as she poured it over the rice. She had done just as Pixie Bob had said, and the curry didn't smell any better. ' _Hopefully it tastes good.'_ Mina had no idea how she'd get Izuku to eat her curry without being obvious about it, but she was willing to try. First though she needed to finish handing it out to those she was seated with. "Here you go Tooru. Dig in."

The invisible girl barely said 'thanks' before shoveling it into her mouth. Mina decided to eat her own before trying to get Izuku to try some. As she ate she kept an eye out to see where Izuku decided to sit. If she could get him at her table getting the boy to eat some would be simple. She deflated a bit when she saw him walking with a plate of food already. ' _It's alright I can still get him to eat a second helping.'_

"Huh. Why's Midoriya heading into the woods?" It was garbled because Tooru had a full mouth, but Mina understood what she said. Turning behind her she could see his silhouette fading into the trees.

"No idea. I'll go see what's up with him." Mina then polished off the rest of her plate, and moved to follow after Izuku. "Oh and Tooru...if you can...save a portion of that curry. I made it and well…" The invisible girl made a motion with her arm that Mina took to mean 'understood' and left the table.

Mina was thankful that Izuku had left foot prints she could follow. Where ever he was going it was fairly deep into the woods. They led to one of the hills, and as she walked the path she began to hear voices.

"See…I have this...friend, and he never inherited a quirk from his parents." Mina covered her mouth so she wouldn't make a noise, and interrupt whatever was going on. "It's a congenital thing that can happen rarely. More than anything he wanted to be a hero, but in this day and age with no quirk it was nothing more than a dream. So when his quirk didn't appear when it should...he decided to train. He tried to psychically pull objects and breath fire, but nothing ever happened. Now there's a lot of viewpoints on quirks; so I can't make a blanket statement, but if you repudiate them to that extent you'll only make life harder for yourself."

Mina was in shock. It might not be obvious to who ever he was speaking too, but it was clear to her Izuku was talking about himself. "Shut up! Honestly just go away!" _Kouta._ Now things made a little sense to Mina. The boy had made clear he disliked heroes, and apparently it went deeper to quirks too.

"Oh...sorry; I guess all I did was ramble inchoherintly. I'll leave this curry for you."

Mina heard Izuku walking down the path, and decided to wait for him at the bottom. As he made the turn he noticed her right away. "Mina?"

"Hey Midoriya. I saw you walking into the forest, and thought were going to eat alone or something. So I followed you." Mina saw no reason to lie about why she was out there. "I worked hard to make the curry, and I wanted you to try it."

"Oh...uhm...How much did you hear?" Izuku wasn't mad she'd eavesdropped, but he was nervous at what she could infer from his speech to Kouta. His past as a quirkless individual was still a sore spot for him. ' _Damn. Mina was one of the last people I wanted to know how weak I was.'_

"Most of what you told Kouta I think. About your 'friend'. That was all about yourself wasn't it."

Izuku flushed red. "Was I that obvious?"

Mina shook her head. "No. I doubt he can tell. Honestly had you not told me about being a late bloomer, and your parents quirks; I doubt I'd figure it out." As Izuku got closer to her she could see he was embarrassed, and he looked like he was about to cry.

Mina decided to take a chance, and wrapped Izuku in a big hug; putting her head on his shoulder. She felt him go stiff from shock, but that only made her tighten her hug. "Midoriya I have no clue how hard it must of been growing up thinking you're quirkless. None of that matters to me. Whatever it was made you into such a great guy though, and that's all I need to know. I...I...I'm so glad you're my friend." Mina was mad at herself for chickening out at the last second, but it was still how she felt.

She felt her heart leap though when Izuku slowly returned the hug. It felt so warm. "Thank you Mina." Izuku's voice was hoarse with emotion. "It's not something I'm comfortable going into, and sometimes I still feel like I don't belong. So it means so much to me that you said that."

The stood there for a minute until Izuku's stomach rumbled. He had yet to eat since he gave Kouta his plate of curry. The both laughed as the moment ended.

"So what was that about you wanting me to eat your curry?" Izuku asked sheepishly.

Mina gave him a wide grin. "C'mon, hopefully Tooru saved you some like I asked." The two headed back to the camp not realising that they were holding hands.

* * *

AN: Alright chapter 3 is a wrap. I'm really pleased with how things went, and I had a lot of fun with certain sections. It took a lot longer than I expected because I decided to not skip the stuff from canon I decided to leave the same. Normally I prefer to leave that stuff out since I feel bad for just lifting stuff out of the manga/anime, but in the end I felt there was some good character development to be had. Feel free to let me know what you think about this chapter, and thanks for all the reviews on chapter two.

To the guest review "A Fan" thanks for letting me know about the error in how I spelt Shigaraki's name. Can't believe I made such a simple mistake.


	4. Meeting Inko

Mina tentatively poked her head into the room labeled 'Izuku Midoriya'. ' _Not like there would be a second in this hospital, but you never know.'_ Seeing familiar green hair; Mina let out a sigh of relief. 1-A was planning on visiting it's hospitalized members tomorrow, but Mina was too restless to stay home waiting. Her parents hadn't wanted to let her go; it had taken her promising to come right home immediately. After what had happened; Mina understood why her parents made her promise that.

Their training camp had been assaulted by villains after all. They should have been safe, but instead the worst possible thing had occurred. Fifteen students poisoned, twelve people injured, and two people missing in action. It didn't get much worse than that.

' _I hope Ragdoll is ok. As for Bakugou...while he needs a massive chill pill; he didn't deserve to be targeted like this.'_ Were Mina's thoughts on the two missing people.

Taking a seat at Izuku's bedside; Mina took in his appearance. His face looked feverish, there was a thick bandage around his head, gauze covered his torso, and his arms had large casts on them. If Izuku were awake she'd have told him he looked like shit, but since he was asleep Mina just looked on in horror. Through the grapevine she had learned he had gotten really hurt, but this was beyond even the sports festival. The longer she stared; the more tears began to well in her eyes.

' _When Mr. Aizawa dragged me away I thought all I would miss was the test of courage. Maybe a few chances to cozy up to Izuku pretending to be scared. I can't believe I ended up doing nothing while my friends fought_ _ **again**_ _. First during the final against the principal. Then there was when Izuku had been taken hostage. Now this. Why am I so_ _ **useless**_ _?'_ Overwhelmed by sadness and frustration; the tears she had been holding back started to fall.

Mina was so consumed she didn't notice that Izuku had started tossing and turning. It wasn't until he let out a pained gasp did she look up. Mina watched in horror as Izuku began struggling. He was moving like he was still fighting from the other day. His casts kept his arms in place, but he was trying everything to flail around. It was just so shocking that all Mina could do was watch. A moment later he stopped fighting, and let out a hoarse whisper. "Kaa-chan…"

That was all Mina could take. ' _I need to get out of here. I can't see him like this...he wouldn't want me to see him like his.'_ As she neared the door it was wrenched open from the other side. Face to face with a short portly woman with green hair; Mina got out of her way as she rushed to Izuku's side.

"Oh Izuku It's alright. You're alright. Mama's here." Mina silently watched as the woman, obviously his mother, smoothed Izuku's hair, and checked to see if any of his wounds reopened Realizing that she was intruding. Mina moved to give the two privacy. "No...wait please. I-I'd like you to stay Ms. Ashido."

' _She knows who I am?'_ Mina froze from confusion, but slowly walked across the room to the chair she had previously occupied.

"You are the girl Izuku has been spending so much time with lately right?" Mina gave a hesitant nod. "No need to be scared I'm not going to bite. I'm Inko Midoriya. I could just use so company that...talks back for a bit."

Mina felt her heart ache for the Izuku's mother. Whatever she was feeling; the older woman must have felt a hundred times worse. The two sat in an uncomfortable silence for until Mina's curiosity got the better of her. "So uhm...you came in here like you knew Midoriya was freaking out. How?"

Inko never took her eyes off of Izuku. "I was in the Nurse's lounge getting some rest, and one of them has a quirk that notifies her when someone she marks wakes up; even if just for a second."

"Oh that's pretty useful." The uncomfortable silence returned. Mina asked another question to break it. "How did you know who I was? We've never been introduced."

The older woman looked up at her, and gave Mina a small smile. "Izuku pretty much only talks about heroes and being a hero at home. So a few weeks ago when he came home from the library asking for an advance on his allowance; I thought he had seen some All Might merchandise he wanted." Mina let out a laugh; that definitely sounded like Izuku. "Imagine my surprise though when he says it's not for that. That he promised to reward a friend if _she_ studied hard. It was so out of the ordinary that I took note of how he talked about you. Then there's all those late night calls I catch him having with you. "

Izuku let out a short tremble. Almost like he knew they were talking about him Inko wiped the sweat off his face before continuing. "I can't think of anyone else with pink skin that would be visiting him. So I assumed that's who you were. I also recognized you a little bit from the sports festival."

Mina couldn't stop the blush that formed. It was embarrassing to know Izuku had talked so much about her to his mother, but at the same time it made her heart soar. "Yeah he helped me study for the finals, and it was so much fun we've been hanging out when we can. I was going to visit my classmates, but most of them aren't taking visitors yet. I wasn't sure I was even allowed in here, but I needed to see Midoriya."

"What makes him so special then?" Mina had been corecct that she wasn't allowed, but Inko was curious to meet her. She was curious to hear how Mina felt about her son. Inko didn't want to jump to conclusions, but she had a good idea of how Izuku felt.

"He just is." Hoping the vague answer would satisfy the older woman. Inko gave her a warm smile; making Mina feel she could trust her. Turning her gaze to Izuku Mina continued. "I...like him, and knowing how much he pushes himself I was worried. I only heard second hand how messed up he was. Seeing him with my own eyes was all I wanted to do since the alarm went up the other day." Saying that she liked Izuku out loud felt like a weight off her shoulders.

Looking back to Inko; Mina was surprised to see she looked happy and sad at the same time. "Is...there something wrong with that Mrs. Midoriya?" ' _Does she not like me?'_ Inko's reaction left Mina confused.

"No dear; not with that anyway. I'm actually very grateful to hear you like my son. You've been such a positive influence on him in such a short time. I mentioned earlier how all Izuku talked about before was heroes and heroics. Lately it's been heroes, heroics, and you Ms. Ashido." Inko noticed the happy grin that information gave the pink girl. It made what she was about to say all the more difficult. "The problem is after all that's happened I'm considering taking Izuku out of Yuuei."

It was like Mina had been doused with cold water after Inko said that. "W-what?"

"The school and the teachers keep failing to keep you children safe, and I can't think of anything else to keep Izuku out of harm's way. The top hero is on staff yet Izuku is the one in the hospital _again_." Mina was stunned by the raw emotion in Inko's voice. Unsurprisingly there were tears in her eyes as well. "I know how important Yuuei is to my son; he'll likely come to resent me for this. I know I would if my mother denied my dream a second time. It's a lot to ask of you, but could you be there for him?"

Mina couldn't believe it. She finds a boy she likes, and before they could become something he was practically being taken away from her. Deep down she understood Inko reasoning, but that didn't soften the blow. Something she said though caught Mina's attention. "What do you mean denying his dream a second time?"

"Has he explained his quirk to you in any way?"

Mina nodded her head. "Yeah he said he was a late bloomer, and I know he had it rough before it's appearance. I could tell he didn't like thinking about though so I didn't push."

Inko smiled as she wiped her tears away. ' _She's such a good girl Izuku.'_ "Obviously we thought he was quirkless for a long time. The day we came back from the doctor when he was four; I found him sitting in his room watching old All Might news clips. He turned to me crying asking if he could be a hero too. I couldn't say yes though. A hero with no quirk is dangerous, and a mother's duty is to make sure her child is safe. I had thought he would just admire from afar, but he never gave up. Then he finally gets a quirk, and gets into his dream school. Now I have to do it again. I'll do whatever it takes to keep my son safe."

"Mrs. Midoriya I won't lie. I'd be upset if you took him out of school, but I can see your point. He'll understand I think too. I promise I'll be there for him though; if he lets me." Mina was sure Izuku would get over not being at Yuuei. Considering his reasoning for declining her invites last week; if it gave his mother peace of mind. "If I can speak frankly. Midoriya's a strong guy; stronger than you may think. He also cares so much for you ma'am. I don't think there's anything you could do that would make him hate you."

Crying once more; Inko was touched by what Mina had said. "Maybe so, but he'll always be my baby boy."

Giving the older woman a big grin. They both felt the mood lighten just a bit. ' _Your mom is really cool Midoriya. Ah that reminds me.'_ "Mrs. Midoriya this has been great, and I'd honored you trust me to look out for Midoriya. I think I should get going though. I promised my parents I'd get home early if they let me go today. Besides the rest of 1-A is going to visit tomorrow so I'll see Midoriya then. I-I just wanted to use today to get some one on one time with him."

"It's okay dear I understand. Oh my you remind me of when I first met Hisashi. Izuku's father. I would make any excuse I could to see him. Have a safe trip home, and hopefully Izuku will be awake when you see him next."

Mina gave the woman a good bye wave as she shut the door. Leaving the hospital quietly Mina made her way to the train station. ' _Seeing Midoriya like that was hard, but I'm glad I came. Speaking of; I hope he wakes up by tomorrow. It would bum everyone out if they saw him like I did today. Talking with his mom made us both feel better. If she does take Midoriya out of Yuuei; I have no intention of giving up on him though."_

She arrived at the train station, and tried to find a schedule. When Mina left in the morning she had gotten lucky that a train was just about to leave. So she had no idea about when the trains ran around here. ' _If I'm reading this thing right it should only be about twenty minutes till the next train. Sweet. I'll let mom know I'm heading back."_ Quickly typing up a text Mina found herself standing at the empty platform. Looking up from her phone she was surprised to see a very serious looking Kirishima sitting on a bench. Just staring at the ceiling. "Kirishima?"

Jumping lightly when he heard someone call his name; Kirishima was surprised to see yet another of his classmates today. "Mina? What are you doing here?"

"I was feeling restless and wanted to see if I could check on anyone. You?"

"Same." Kirishima let out a small chuckle. "Can't believe three of us had the same idea." Mina gave him a confused look as she sat next to him. "Todoroki was here too. His train left a few minutes ago though. It was a wash though; everyone is still out, and not taking visitors. Well Yaoyorozu was up, but she was busy."

This was news to Mina. When she arrived at the hospital the girl had still been sleeping. ' _I must have talked with Mrs. Midoriya for longer than I thought.'_

"It's strange though. I was in the waiting area for a while, but never saw you come in. When did you get to the hospital? You had to of gotten there before me." Kirishima tried to not sound accusatory, but he was really curious why this was the first time he'd seen his friend today.

"Oh. Uhm." Mina was hesitant to let him know _who_ she had spent the last hour talking with. ' _Kirishima's a simple guy. He won't look to deep into things I bet'_ "Well I was up in Midoriya's room. I bumped into his mother. She recognized me as one of his classmates, and asked to talk for a bit. Shame I missed you two while we were all there."

Her intuition proved right. "Really? Was he awake?" Mina shook her head in the negative. "Damn. How was he?"

"Worse than after he fought Todoroki." Mina decided to not sugar coat Izuku's condition. Kirishima would find out first hand tomorrow anyway.

Their train pulling up stopped the redhead from reacting to what Mina told him. They were the only two on at the moment. Which made Kirishima's silence all the more unsettling to Mina. His face had also returned to the serious look it had when she first spotted him. ' _Something is up with him. He's acting like he did back when I first met him in middle school. What's wrong?'_ "Hey is something the matter dude?"

"It's…nothing."

Mina wasn't going to buy such an obvious lie. "C'mon man. You can't lie to my face like that. Not when you're acting all broody."

Kirishima clicked his tongue after her callout. ' _I can't tell Mina about my plan yet. Not until Todoroki gets back to me.'_ "I'm just frustrated. All that crap at the camp went down, and we couldn't do anything. I'm tired of standing by waiting for something to happen! I just want to get Bakugou back from those villains."

"So do I, but no one knows where they took him." Mina felt sympathy for Kirishima. ' _I remember how he bowed his head to apologize to my friends. He feels just as bad as I do.'_

"What if we did? Would you be willing to bring him back?" ' _I can't tell her we do have a way to find him, but I can gauge her reaction.'_ Kirishima didn't want to hide the news he overheard; with no solid plan though it was too risky.

Mina had no idea where her friend was going with this. "I don't know. It would probably be better left to the professionals though. I get the frustration. I hate that something happened to Midoriya while I just sat around _again._ Seeing him today reminded me how unprepared we are right now."

"I know! I know. I just thought I might have changed since middle school. Even just a little. So doing nothing is just unmanly." ' _Damn; Mina doesn't sound like she'd go for the rescue plan. Hopefully I can get someone to back me up on it tomorrow.'_ It was disappointing, but Kirishima wasn't surprised. He was fully aware how reckless it was to cut off whatever the heroes might be planning.

Mina gave Kirishima's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Don't stress so much. Midoriya told me something the other day when I was feeling down after he got grabbed. 'You can't save people where your hands don't reach'. What I think he meant was that there's a difference in not acting and being unable to act. Right now there's nothing we can do...so we just gotta suck it up I guess."

"You're right." The two then shared a smile. Mina had no way of knowing that she had just solidified Kirishima's will with her advice. ' _She's damn right. With that tracker I'll be sure that my hands reach Bakugou. And if that came from Midoriya I'm sure he'll help too if he can.'_ "That Midoriya knows his stuff. I was unsure at first, but you two make a good couple."

"We really do." Mina blinked a few times as she properly processed what Kirishima had said. "Eeeeeeh! Wait wait wait. Midoriya and I aren't dating. How the hell did you jump to that conclusion?"

"What do you mean? You two have been inseparable since before the exams. When I was studying with Bakugou for the finals I saw you two go into a restaurant together. You even shared drinks. I also saw you chase after him the second night of camp. When you came back holding hands; I figured one of you confessed or something."

"When you put it like that I can see how you'd think that. He and I are not dating..yet."

"So do you want to date him, or should I stick my foot in my mouth?" Kirishima felt bad for assuming they were dating, but from what he could tell Mina did have a thing for Izuku.

"Yes!" Seeing Kirishima actually try to put his foot in his mouth; Mina let out an exasperated sigh. "Stop that you dummy. I was planning on confessing at some point during the camp, but we know how that ended. Now I don't know when I'll have a chance."

Now it was Kirishima's turn to comfort Mina. "Hey none of that. You'll have plenty of chances to tell him how you feel. If you want we can head back here before the class is supposed to meet up. That should give you time to talk with him. He's a real man so I bet he'll accept too!."

Even though Kirishima was being serious; Mina couldn't help but laugh at how he aquated everything to manliness. "Thanks Kirishima I needed that. I appreciate the offer, but I want to wait before I tell him. He's got enough to deal with without me adding that to his plate." Inko's decision to remove Izuku from Yuuei fresh in Mina's mind. "I don't plan on dragging my feet so don't worry. I just need to do things at my own pace."

"Good luck Mina."

"Thanks Kirishima."

The two spent the rest of the train ride in silence. Contemplating their respective plans for tomorrow.

* * *

AN: That's chapter four. Obviously I skipped the whole villain raid, but it was because I had no intention of changing how anything played out. So I decided to jump ahead to the aftermath. Fair warning I'll be doing similar for the next chapter as I don't think I'll be changing the AFO/One for All fight. It's the aftermath I plan on focusing on. With this chapter I'm not too confident with the small drama I wrote, but I liked how things came together. If you think Inko probably wouldn't reveal she was considering pulling Izuku from Yuuei; I see your point, but Inko is very emotional. And like I said in the chapter she wants to do what she thinks is best for Izuku. Plus Inko thinks removing from Yuuei is going to hurt her and Izuku's relationship. So when faced with someone she knows her son is close to; I can see her asking to make Izuku happy. Like usual let me know what you think, and thanks for reading. I hope you like how things are going.


	5. A Fight to Remember

Mina along with her parents stared at the tv screen in shock. The battle All Might was having against the mysterious villain had taken a frightening turn. All Might's emaciated form was the exact opposite of everything Mina knew about him. Skinny, beat up, and weak looking. ' _God I hope Midoriya isn't watching; this might be too much for him. Who am I kidding. He was probably the first one to hear about this fight.'_ Mina had no idea how close to the truth she was.

"Who is this guy? He seems to have a counter for everything All Might can throw at him."

Mina had to agree with her mother. Up until All Might's change the fight seemed pretty even. That fact someone that could equal the symbol of peace was terrifying. ' _This is not some normal villain. He's a monster in every sense of the word.'_ Even through the tv screen this villain had Mina on edge; she couldn't imagine what he was like in person.

"I've got no idea dear, but I wouldn't count All Might out just yet."

As if mocking her father's hope; the villain made a few gestures towards All Might. Mimicking his smile from what they could see. They had no idea what was being said, but it looked like All Might had been shaken to his core. He was trembling, and screaming at something.

Right when it looked like he was about to give up; the camera panned to a woman trapped in rubble. The same woman All Might had thrown himself in front of. With tears in her eyes she was calling out to All Might. What she was saying was clear as day though; she was saying "Save me."

Mina and her parents jumped when they heard her brother yell from his room. "All Might you can still win. Beat this freak into next week!" Hope was beginning to spread through them all. None of them thought All Might was finished.

"Damn right! Kick his ass All Might!" Mina's shout followed her brother's.

Her father jumped out of his seat, and started punching the air as he cheered for All Might.

Her mother looked about ready to tear the pillow she was clutching in half.

When All Might's right arm swelled with power they all whooped with joy. There was a crazed look on his face, but it filled Mina with relief. ' _I can't believe I ever doubted All Might. Midoriya has modeled himself after him, and he never gives up. Why would All Might be any different.'_

Further adding to that relief was the rest of the pro heroes providing support. Mina saw Endeavor, Edgeshot, Kamui Woods, and others filling the area. Distracting the villain. Getting the civilians out of harm's way. Whatever they could do to support All Might.

Once again as if to mock All Might's resolve; the villain's own right arm swelled. As if he couldn't get creepier. The villain's arm now looked to be made up of dozens of different arms, with bone spikes all over it, and it was almost like he had multiple quirks. It was a grotesque excuse of an arm.

The camera feed momentarily went white as the clash between the two renewed. All might and the villain trading blows. Each trying to finally end the other. All Might then caught the villain's arm, but was being pushed back. Then out of nowhere All Might's left arm swelled, and he leveled the villain with a hook. The villain tried to fight All Might off, but it was for naught. The power returned to All Might's right, and he landed a punch square on the villain's face. It was the strongest punch Mina had ever seen. The villain was left defeated at the bottom of a large crater.

"My word. I never thought I'd live to see another 'United States of Smash' from All Might. I don't think I've seen him use that since his fight with that one villain...who was it honey?"

Mina tuned out her parents as they excitedly talked about the end of the fight. She couldn't tear her eyes away from All Might standing over the defeated villain. He was back in his normal form with his fist raised high. As he faded back into that weaker form; he pointed directly to a nearby camera. Proclaiming "You're next."

All Might's declaration filled Mina with determination. ' _I don't know what's up with All might, but I can't wait for school now. I want to be a hero like that too.'_

" **You're Next. Potentially All Might's last words as a hero. A powerful promise to all who seek to do evil that justice will always prevail. Regardless if this is the end of his career as a hero; we here at channel 5 news want to thank All Might for his years of service. Now to close out our program we take you to nearby Kamino Ward where we managed to capture the crowd at the moment of All Might's victory."**

Mina watched as the crowd in Kamino all celebrated. Many people crying in relief, or screaming in joy. As the recording panned she caught sight of green hair that looked _very familiar_. ' _No way...there's no way that was him.'_ Mina wanted to be wrong. "I'm gonna head to my room. Night Mom. Night Dad." They bid her goodnight as well as she left the room. She had no intention of going to sleep though. Mina was going to try and find a copy of the video the news had played. ' _I hope I'm seeing things. Please tell me Midoriya didn't go along with Kirishima's crazy plan.'_

* * *

The last 48 hours had been chaos for Izuku Midoriya. Waking up for the first time in days, going on the rescue mission, witnessing All for One, and seeing All Might's last fight. It would go down as one of the craziest days of his life. So when All Might punched him for risking his life; Izuku couldn't stop the tears even if he wanted too. The pain in his cheek was nothing compared to the pain in his heart knowing his mentor was done as a hero. Once he was done crying; All Might helped Izuku up, and brushed the sand off him.

"Young Midoriya while I'm proud you stayed safe I doubt Aizawa will let you off with just a punch to the cheek." When Izuku looked up at him in confusion Toshinori elaborated. "I'm not the only one who noticed your group last night. While Gran Torino and I intended to keep quiet about your involvement; that youngster Mt. Lady mentioned it to Kamui Woods. By then we couldn't really keep it to ourselves. So safe to say Aizawa knows about your involvement last night."

Izuku went cold after hearing that. "Is..is there any way you can ask him to be lenient? If you do he might listen." Izuku knew there would be consequences if they had been seen. He was also prepared to accept them, but that didn't mean he wouldn't ask his mentor for help.

"Sorry Midoriya. Even if Aizawa would listen to me; I wouldn't stand in his way. That love tap I gave you earlier was my punishment as your master. You and the others are also his students; so it's only fair I leave your punishment to him as well. You understand right. What you five did was reckless, and you need to be disciplined."

"You're right." Izuku sighed. "A part of me knew it would come down to this if when Mt. Lady helped us. I have a good idea what Mr. Aizawa is going to do...but I'm ready to accept those consequences." Izuku then let his hand drift to the his pants pocket; where the letter Kota wrote him was. Izuku knew he was a hero to someone. So even if Aizawa expelled them from U.A; he knew he had a future as a professional one day.

Toshinori could tell Izuku was being honest. He was prepared for whatever Aizawa was going to throw at him. Toshinori felt pride at how strong Izuku was becoming. Not just physically, but as a person as well. ' _You really are worthy of One for All Young Midoriya. I can't wait to see what kind of man you'll become one day.'_ Using his good arm he tussled Izuku's hair. "That a boy; now let's get you home befo…"

 _I am HERE!~_

Izuku's ringtone cut his mentor off, and Toshinori couldn't help but laugh at how obsessed Izuku was with him. "Really Young Midoriya?" ' _He's almost as big a fan of me as Nighteye is.'_

"I...I..I've been meaning to change it! Besides it's just a text. Probably Mom wondering where I am." Taking his phone out Izuku noticed it was from Mina. Involuntarily smiling he read the message.

Toshinori watched as his protege turned beet red while he read the message. "I suppose it's not from your mother then. Who is it from?"

"M-mina. She says she want to see me. Said that she's nearby, and really wants to talk to me about something important." Izuku was nervous. The two of them hadn't been alone since Mina found him after he told Kota his story. To his knowledge any way.

"Oh? I hadn't known the two of you were close." Toshinori felt a twinge of shame at not knowing such a simple thing about his student.

"I helped her study for the finals, and since then I guess we've been talking a bunch. What should I do?" Izuku had no idea how to handle this. "Would it be rude to tell her no? She doesn't live that close so I shouldn't turn her away. But why would she want to meet _now._ "

Toshinori put his hand on Izuku's shoulder before his mumbling habit could take over. "Breathe Midoriya. Now I'll be honest; I'm not particularly well versed in matters like this. I can only think of a few reasons why she'd want to meet this late. I have one question. Do you like Miss Ashido?." Izuku paused and then slowly nodded. "Then tell her to come to this beach. It should give the two of you privacy for whatever she wants to talk about. Good luck my boy."

Izuku then sent his reply, and gave her directions to Dagobah Beach. He was excited to see her, and to talk with her for the first time in a while.

* * *

About ten minutes later Izuku saw the pink girl arrive at the gate to the beach. Waving at her to get her attention. Once Mina saw him she sprinted to him, and as soon as she got close pulled him into a crushing hug. "M-Mina?"

"Sorry Midoriya, but after everything that happened at the camp I've wanted to do this." It was highly embarrassing to Izuku, but he liked how it felt. As he awkwardly tried to return the hug; Mina let up a bit so he could wrap his arms around her.

Izuku let her get whatever it was she needed from the hug. Once she let go he decided to see what she needed to talk about. "S-so what did you need to talk about?"

Mina's happy demeanor immediately went away at his question. Remembering why she had come out to confront Izuku; she pulled a folded piece of paper from her back pocket. "Midoriya could you explain this to me...please?"

Once again Izuku felt himself go cold as Mina unfolded the paper. It was a bit on the blurry side, but it was unmistakingly him back at Kamino. Bakugou was even in the shot as well. ' _Not good. We're already in trouble. I don't want to drag Mina into this too. If Mr. Aizawa finds out they have proof, but didn't report us he'd punish them just as bad.'_ "H-huh? Explain w-what? That looks like a guy in a blue suit."

"Don't lie to me Midoriya. This is you and Bakugou isn't it. You went along with Kirishima and Todoroki's crazy plan." Mina didn't like that Izuku was trying to hide this.

"What? No! I-I didn't get out of the hospital till this morning. Y-yeah they had to keep me for a final check up." Izuku was beginning to panic as he could tell Mina wasn't buying it.

"Midoriya this is clearly you! I'd recognize your hair a mile away!" Mina couldn't believe how hard Izuku was trying to lie his way out of this. It was beginning to make her mad. "I just want to know why you went. So stop lying!."

"I'm not! I swear I didn't go with them. That's not me!" Izuku didn't want to fight with Mina over this, but he wouldn't let her get in trouble with them.

"It is!"

"No it's not!

"This is clearly you!"

"Even if it was me how could you even tell?"

"Because I like you! You've been all I can think about for weeks; so don't tell me I can't recognize the boy I like!" Mina dropped the picture, and put but her hands over her mouth. She hadn't planned on confessing, but in the heat of the moment it had come out. ' _I wuss out in the forest when I had the perfect moment, but_ _ **now**_ _I say it. Great going me.'_ With the cat out of the bag Mina decided to continue. "I-I'm not stupid I-Izuku. You should know better than anyone. I don't want _you_ of all people treating me like I'm stupid."

Izuku had thought a girl using his first name would be happy moment, but hearing it now was bittersweet. It made him feel like a jerk. ' _I'm a bastard.'_ Izuku then took both Mina's hands into his own. Thankfully she didn't push him away. "I'm sorry Mina. I'm sorry for trying to deceive you about this. You are absolutely right; that's me. I found out Mr. Aizawa knows we went; so I can only imagine we'll be expelled if he thinks we deserve it. I just thought I'd be protecting you from the same punishment for knowing, but not reporting us. You don't need me to protect you though. I was just being selfish again."

Mina sniffed, and used Izuku's shoulder to wipe away the tears that had begun to leak from her eyes. "I forgive you dummy. Please though explain to me why you went along. It's no secret Bakugou despises you. Why would you risk everything for _him_?"

Leading Mina to a nearby bench; the two of them got comfortable. "The reason I wanted to help Kacchan...kind of a long story, but I can tell you part of it. I met Kacchan when we were in preschool. We didn't have much in common, but we both wanted to be heroes. So you could almost say he was my best friend back then. Then once my quirk didn't appear things changed. I honestly couldn't tell you how many times I'd reach my hand out to Kacchan...only to get Bakugou instead. Then when I started standing up to him things got worse. It's no secret that he looks down on those weaker than him. So when a quirkless _Deku_ stood against him he focused on me. Honestly I don't think I can every fully forgive him for how he treated me."

Mina was horrified at what Izuku was implying. That Bakugou was his childhood tormentor. She already thought Bakugou was a jerk, but to be that petty as well. Mina wasn't sure what to do with this information. "Then..why? If he was so horrible to you?"

"Because despite everything I _know_ he is dedicated to being a hero. Before he turned on me we would spend hours idolizing All Might. He's just as devoted to All Might as I am, but I guess I'm more open with it. When I thought I was quirkless All Might became this unreachable goal. Kacchan though was someone I _could_ reach I thought. He was everything I wanted to be; strong, smart, and a powerful quirk. I figured that if I studied hard enough about quirks... _about him._ Maybe one day I could match him. That's why if our positions were reversed; had I been the one kidnapped. I know Kacchan wouldn't hesitate to come after me. If only to prove that he was better than me. So that's why I went. Even if it's minor I can tell he's changed since coming to U.A; so leaving him at the mercy of villains was not something I could do."

Mina didn't fully understand Izuku's reasoning, but she could tell he was being honest with her. Which is all she wanted in the end. "Honestly when I first got here I was so happy to see you I forgot why I came here. So thanks for telling me. I don't quite get it, but that's ok I guess."

The two sat on the bench in silence until Mina felt she had to head home. "I don't want to go, but it's getting late. I've got to catch a train."

Izuku didn't really want Mina to leave either, and he wanted to make up for lying to her. As Mina was getting up he grabbed her hand. "Dinner!" Mina gave him and odd look as he just shouted the word. Realizing he was making no sense. "What I mean is… I still feel terrible about lying to you. So would you like to have dinner with me? My mother was just about done with it when I left. I'm sure she wouldn't mind setting another plate for you."

Mina felt herself bush at Izuku's offer. Giving him a warm smile. "I'd like that… Izuku. So what's for dinner?" She also didn't mind seeing Inko again. This time in a better place than Izuku's bedside.

Hearing Mina use his first name this time made his heart flutter. "W-well Mom was making my favorite dish in celebration of me getting out of the hospital. So we're having katsudon."

Mina took note that the pork dish was Izuku's favorite for future reference. Dragging him off the bench. She started to push him to the beach exit. "Well then let's get a move on! The food is getting cold, and only you know the way."

Izuku laughed as the girl pushed him, and began to 'mush" him like a sled dog. Happy that things between them had been settled.

Though it wasn't till much later after Mina had went home that things fully hit Izuku. Mina had confessed to him during their argument. She had confessed, and he _never responded to her feelings_.

* * *

AN: Oooh slightly ominous ending. Hey there, been a while since my last update. Wish I could say I had a good reason, but I really don't. Between football and playoff baseball I was just too easily distracted. I also felt a tad burnt out overall about writing too, even though I had this chapter planned out for a while. Either way thanks for being patient with me. I don't know when chapter 6 will becoming out, but I'm aiming for by next week at the latest. Chapter 6 will be my final planned chapter for this story so I want to thank everyone for following this story and joining me on this ride.


	6. Reunions, Revelations, and the Perks

In any other circumstance the scene Mina was watching would be hilarious. She was sitting at the head of their kitchen table. Her father on her right; was in his best suit asking All Might dozens of questions about his hero career. Thankfully the retired hero was taking it in stride. Her mother on the other hand was in full 'mom" mode. Pacing all around the room making sure fresh tea, and that a dozen of different snacks were available to her teachers. To top it all off Aizawa was looking more and more disgruntled. Mina wished she could find all of this funny.

It wasn't though. This house visit was to determine if her parent's would allow Mina to return U.A, and live in the new dormitories. Mina had also stayed up chatting with Izuku; so she was tired, and she had woken up early for this. Having enough she spoke up. "Mom? Dad? I'm guessing Mr. Aizawa and All Might have the rest of my class to get to today. Can we get to the point?" Mina had to inwardly groan at her tone. It had been a bit grumpier than she meant to be.

Her parents and All Might turned to look at her; causing her to blush. Her father coughed into his hand. Her mother took the seat next to him, and across from her homeroom teacher. Aizawa gave her a look that she assumed was gratitude.

"Mina is right. We shouldn't take up too much of your time." Mina watched as her father begun to scratch his horn; which grew right in the middle of his forehead. This was what he did anytime he wanted to stall for time. "If I read the pamphlet that was sent to us correctly; because of the increased villain activity you want students to live on campus from now on?"

"Yes. Since the League of Villains has targeted the students on multiple occasions now. We feel this is the best route to proceed with." Aizawa's response was quick, and spoken smoothly. Clearly he had rehearsed; expecting to get this question many times today.

"Even though it was under your watch most of these incidents have occurred? Including the Summer Camp you assured would be safe?" Mina flinched at her father's tone. He was normally so cheerful; much like Mina herself. So to hear him like this was unnerving to her.

"I understand your hesitance. The principal has already personally seen to upgrading all our security protocols. Several of my colleagues are also staking their own reputations to ensure that our past mistakes are not repeated." Aizawa then looked her father right in his eyes.

Her father held the eye contact for a minute. Then gave her mother a side glance, and let out a relieved sigh. "Alright sounds good. We'll allow Mina to continue attending school." Her parents then gave both teachers wide toothy smiles.

Mina, All Might, and Aizawa were unprepared for the attitude shift. "R-really? Just like that?" Shota Aizawa was clearly not prepared for the Ashidos to hand over permission so easily.

"Yup. Honestly my wife and I both think this will be for the best. While Mina has not been targeted specifically in any of these incidents; there's not much either of us could do should they come here for her. My quirk is largely cosmetic. This horn breaks if I so much as bump into a door." As if to emphasise the point her father knocked on his horn with his knuckles, and a crack began to form.

"And my quirk makes my drool acidic, but it's so weak. It barely rates below neutral on the ph scale." Mina's mother picked up from there. "So while we have reservations about Mina leaving home. Those are normal concerns though. Especially when she'll be living with that boy she spends all night talking with."

Mina had to look away from her Mother's teasing grin. "Moooom!" Turning to face All Might she was surprised to see he had a similar knowing look on his face. Which left her slightly confused.

"Now Mina dear; I just want you to be safe. In every meaning of the word."

"MOM!" Mina was so embarrassed. While sex had never been a taboo subject in the Ashido household. Her teachers were the last people Mina wanted to have this conversation in front of.

Her mother laughed into her hand before changing subjects. " Now while we give permission; we still have a few questions about the arrangements. The pamphlets showed a kitchen in the dorm layout. Will the students be required to cook for themselves, and if so will they be given a stipend to shop with?"

Aizawa shifted in his seat a bit. "During the school week the school's chef Lunch-Rush will provide breakfast and lunch for the students. On the weekend, and at dinner students will be encouraged to cook for themselves. We are working a deal with several on campus clubs for students with vegetation based quirks to provide fresh produce to the dorms. Anything else will have to be provided by the students themselves."

"That's more than I thought they'd provide. That was my main concern; what about you honey?"

Mina then tuned out her parents and teachers going over the intricacies of the dorm. She was suddenly full of relief. ' _Oh man for a moment I thought they were going to say no. I can't wait to hang out with everyone. Hehe I'll be able to hang with Izuku whenever I want now.'_ Mina was giddy at the thought, but then a sobering memory came to the surface. ' _Wait...oh no. I can't believe I forgot that his mom told me she was thinking of pulling him from U.A. This is the perfect excuse.'_

Mina was shaken from her thoughts when her father started to ruffle her hair. "Before you two go I want to thank you both. I'm sure my daughter is quite the handful in class. If she's anything like I was at that age it takes a while to get her to learn anything. It means the world to me to know she has people at that school who are looking out for her."

' _Dad...Wait did he say they're leaving? I need to see if they've gone to Izuku's yet.'_ Breaking free of her father's embrace Mina turned to her teachers. They were now standing in the front hall of her house. "Wait! I need to ask about...uhm." Mina hesitated for a few reasons. One being that she didn't want to let on how much she knew about the rescue operation. Nor did she want to interfere with what was ultimately Inko's decision. "It's about Izu...uhm Midoriya." Her hesitation caused the last part to come out as a whisper.

One that All Might was close enough to hear. "Aizawa I've got this! If you don't mind waiting in the car. It should only take a moment." Her homeroom teacher looked at them suspiciously for a moment before turning to leave. "Miss Ashido; We'll likely be visiting the Midoriya's later in the day. I understand why _you_ might be worried, but worry not! I personally intended to ensure things go well with him." He then used his good arm to reassuringly pat Mina on the shoulder. Giving a final wave to the Ashido's All Might left to join Aizawa in their car.

All Might's confidence lifted Mina's spirits, but she couldn't help the doubt that was filling her mind.

* * *

Several hours later found Mina laying on her bed; staring up at her phone with her thumb hovering over Izuku's contact. She desperately wanted to message him and find out about his home visit. It was nearing dinner time, but there was no way to know if it had happened yet. Mina brought up a picture of the two of them; one that Tooru had taken of the two as they exited the forest during the training camp. Just as she was about to type out another message only to delete it; her phone began ringing, and 'Izuku Midoriya' popped up.

Mina was so surprised by the sudden call she dropped her phone right on her face. "Oww." Ignoring the pain Mina scrambled to answer her phone. "Midoriya!"

"Mina are you okay? You sound like you're hurt."

"Nothing to worry about. Just dropped my phone on my face. What's up?"

"Just finished my home visit, and wanted to know how your visit went. Has All Might been to your house?"

Mina felt her face heat up with a blush. She was flattered that Izuku was thinking along the same lines as her. ' _Here I am hemming and hawing all day, and Izuku calls me the first chance he gets.'_ "Mine was fine. My parents agreed almost immediately, and spent the rest of the time bombarding All Might and Aizawa with questions. More importantly how did _your's_ go?"

"Uh...well..it could have b-better. Things got real tense between my Mom, All Might, and I." Izuku was relieved his mother had given her permission, but it was undeniably tense before that.

" _Oh no…"_ Mina on the other hand assumed the worst. That Inko had not allowed him to continue attending U.A. "W-what happened?"

"My Mom didn't want me to go back to school. Said that they had done a poor job of protecting the students; especially with how often I got hurt. I tried to convince her that all the times I got hurt it was my fault, but she wasn't having it. She stood her ground against All Might and I." Izuku let out a sigh. He had never seen his mother like that before, and despite how sad he would of been to no longer go to U.A he was very proud of his mother.

"Izu...We can still hang out even if you go to a different school." Mina hated the thought of not seeing him everyday, but was determined to make things work.

"Wha-?" Izuku was cut off by Mina before he could ask what she meant.

"And we can call each other all the time. That's not much different from what we already do either!" Mina wasn't listening to Izuku; all she was doing was running off every idea that popped into her head. "Besides you live fairly close to campus. I can stop by whenever."

"Mina I'm not-" Izuku having finally figured out Mina had assumed He would not be going to U.A tried to clear up the misunderstanding. Only to be cut off by her rapid questions.

"Do you have any idea what school you'll be going to instead? I'm sure you'd do well at Shinketsu. Wait you only just found out; you probably haven't considered what school to go to yet."

"Mina!" It was the last thing Izuku wanted to do, but yelling at her was the only way to get Mina's attention. She immediately quieted down after he called her name. "I was trying to tell you my mom eventually agreed to letting go back to U.A."

Mina felt a rush of emotion after hearing that. After everything Inko had told her; Mina was sure she'd take this chance to pull Izuku from the school. So stunned by this Mina could only mutter one word. " _How_?"

"Completely by accident." That only increased Mina's confusion. "I could tell she was serious, and I knew her stress over me was high since the incident with Shigaraki. All I wanted to do was to ease a bit of her worries by showing her the letter Kota wrote me."

"Kota?" Mina couldn't place the name despite it sounding familiar.

"Mandalay's nephew." Mina murmured out an 'oh.' "I saved him during that raid on the camp, and he wrote me a thank you letter, and apologised for uhm…"

"Hitting you below the belt?" Mina had almost forgotten how their first meeting with the young boy had gone.

"Yeah… Anyway I wanted to show my mom that I was someone's hero if only for a minute. That I was okay with her choice; because no matter what I'd be a hero one day."

' _I told you Mrs. Midoriya. Izuku could never hate you for caring about his well being.'_ "How did that change her mind then? Sounds like you accepted her choice."

"I didn't change her mind. It was All Might. He actually got on his hands and knees to implore her to reconsider. He s-said he saw a lot of promise in me as a hero. That he understood her anxiety over how the school has handled things, but they are truly trying to change so they never happen again. All Might said he wanted to make sure I...that _we_ don't follow the same bloody path alone. He wants to walk with us down that path. I think that was what really convinced her."

Mina was so stunned. The meeting with her parents had gone so smoothly it was incredible hearing how far her teacher had gone for Izuku. She was so busy processing this that she never picked up the slight slip Izuku made. "I...wow. That must have been intense. So then you're really sure that you'll be going back?"

"Yes; Mom signed the forms and everything. Now all that's left is whatever Mr. Aizawa chooses to do with those of us that went after Kac-chan."

Mina had to click her tongue at that reminder; no matter how true it was. Their conversation had finally gone to a lighter place, and Izuku just had to bring reality back. "Any idea how that is gonna go down?"

"No All Might wouldn't give me any hints. All he gave me was that it was Mr. Aizawa's decision alone. Regardless though; you said it earlier. We can still hang out no matter what. I-I like hanging out with you too much to let that get in the way."

That gave Mina a nice warm feeling in her chest, and they both used it to drift towards other topics. They spent the rest of the conversation talking about what they were planning to bring with them to their new dorms.

* * *

While Mina was busy admiring their new dorm; she was surprised to feel a body crash into her, and give her a tight hug. "Mina! It's good to see you. How come you never visited me while I was in the hospital."

Realizing that it was Tooru; Mina laughed as the invisible girl tightened the hug. "I tried a bunch, but they kept it to family only while you were out cold. My parents also wouldn't let me go everyday, or else I would have."

Tooru laughed her off. "I know. Just pulling your leg. This place is massive though. I wonder how big our rooms are going to be?"

Mina followed Tooru's sleeve as it gestured in the direction of the dorm. "I know! They really spared no expense with this place it seems."

As Tooru began describing some of the decorations she'd brought; Mina couldn't help but notice something over her shoulder. It was Izuku talking with the rest of the group that had rescued Bakugou. Judging by the serious look on his face he was informing them of what he told her; that Aizawa was aware of their activities. She couldn't fight the morbid curiosity as the other four reacted to the news.

Iida had taken off his glasses, and was pinching the bridge of his nose. He was clearly attempting to calm himself down. From what Midoriya had told her Iida had been very against them going in the first place. ' _He's probably fighting back from saying I told you so.'_

Todoroki was his usual stoic self, but Mina could see that his clenched had was shaking ever so slightly. ' _I guess that means he's pretty pissed.'_

Kirishima's face looked like someone had just kicked a puppy. Mina felt bad for her middle school classmate, but it only went so far. ' _It was his idea to go on that stupid rescue mission.'_

Finally Momo was biting her thumb in worry, and impatiently tapping her left foot. Mina had to fight back a pang of jealousy when Izuku put a comforting hand on her shoulder. ' _I shouldn't be jealous considering the circumstance. As nervous as I am Yao-Momo is probably twenty times more.'_

"Damn girl. I thought we got past you staring at Midoriya during the camp. I figured when you two came back hand in hand things were looking good. What happened to set you back two steps?"

Tooru's voice pulled Mina from her thoughts. Mina let out a sigh. "A whole bunch I guess."

Sensing that Mina didn't want to go into detail around all their classmates; Tooru pulled her towards the back of the group so they could talk. "What happened?"

"I sort of confessed while arguing with him." Tooru almost let out a happy squeal, but Mina was quick to shush the invisible girl.

"Okay geez. What were you two arguing about?"

"I'm sure you'll find out soon, but I was trying to get him to be honest about something big. I got frustrated with him and let it slip. After that he was totally honest in answering my questions. After that he kind of never gave me an answer to the confession, and we've kind of been avoiding it when we talk."

"That no good jerk! Don't worry Mina I'll set him right."

Mina had to hold back Tooru before she made a scene. "It's not like that Tooru. Trust me there's a reason why I haven't pushed the issue yet. It will make sense soon. Besides after we talked that night he invited me to have dinner at his house. So it's not like I don't *know* how he feels...We just haven't talked about it yet."

That calmed the invisible girl down. "Fine. You know him better than me anyway."

Mina could tell she wasn't fully convinced, but it was enough for now. "C'mon I can see Mr. Aizawa coming from the dorm." The two then rejoined the rest of their classmates.

Their teacher stood in front of the group. Surveying them, and answering a couple questions about his status. "Now before I give an explanation on how these dorms will work; there's one matter I need to address. The provisional license that you were meant to get at the end of the training camp. This is important so pay attention. Todoroki, Kirishima, Midoriya, Yaoyorozu, and Iida." As he announced each name he looked each person's direction. "On that night, you five went to rescue Bakugou."

Mina tried her best to act surprised when she heard that. She could feel the intense stare Tooru was giving her over this revelation. So what she chose to do was keep her attention on Aizawa.

"Judging by your reactions; the rest of you were aware of their plan." He closed his eyes for a moment, and took a deep breath. " I've been shelving things, but allow me to make this clear. Had All Might not been forced to retire. Save for Bakugou, Hagakure, and Jirou; I would have expelled each and every one of you. The five that went go without saying. The twelve that knew, but said nothing would not gotten of scott free either."

The silence was deafening to Mina. She took a glance to her right, and felt her heart clench at the look of guilt on Izuku's face. This was his exact worse case scenario, and they only avoided it by chance.

"Whatever reasons you may have had it doesn't change that you've betrayed our trust. So from this point onwards; I would appreciate it if you rebuild our trust by going through the proper channels. That is all. Now for a tour of the dorms!" Aizawa then turned on his heel, and started walking towards the dorm."

There was a heavy atmosphere surrounding 1-A after that. It took Bakugou dragging Kaminari in to bush to interrogate him; forcing him to short circuit. Kaminari's stupified state was enough to raise most of the class' mood. For the rest seeing Bakugou pay back Kirishima for his night vision goggles, and the resulting debate on what to use it on was enough. With that 1-A entered their new lodging with renewed spirits.

* * *

After a quick walk through of the Heights Alliance Dorms everyone went about unpacking. Izuku had gotten most of his room decorated. He had his All Might sheets on his bed, an All Might rug rolled out, various hero books were in his shelves, and a litany of All Might posters covered each wall. Cracking open the box that held his All Might figures; Izuku began taking them out of the paper he had wrapped them in. A knock on his door made him stop.

"Yeah?"

"Hey Mi-Izuku; can I come in? I want to talk for a bit." It was Mina. Izuku jumped up to his feet to open the door.

"Uh sure! Come on in." He didn't hesitate to let her in.

Thanks..oh wow. I knew you admired All Might dude, but _this_ is just a bit much." Mina hadn't seen his room back home when he had invited her to dinner. So seeing the wall to wall All Might was slightly shocking.

An embarrassed blush overcame Izuku. "N-no I just look up to him is all." Izuku was waving his arms to try and hide his merchandise.

While he was doing that Mina couldn't help but notice the large burn scar on his bicep. She stopped his flailing, and gently moved her hand over it. Taking note of the other new scars that joined it. Before today she had only seen him with bandages covering them. "Do they still hurt?"

Izuku had to resist the urge to pull away as she traced his scars. "N-not really. The burn scar is slightly sensitive; so I'll have to wear something to cover it, but they don't hurt."

"O-oh sorry, and here I am touching it like nothing." Mina had snapped her hand away once she knew it felt something.

"No worries. It actually felt...nice when you did that." Izuku's blush had doubled, and Mina had a matching one.

' _Ok file that away for later. I need to get back to why I'm here.'_ "Actually Izuku I wanted to ask you about something else."

Grateful for the changing of topics. Izuku offered Mina his desk chair, and he sat on his bed. "Sure, what's up."

Mina took a breath to give herself a moment to think about how to broach the topic. "Because of how worried you were about Aizawa knowing you guys went after Bakugou; I was willing to pretend it hadn't happened. After this morning your worries were justified too. Now that it's over though I can't wait any longer. I don't want to pretend anymore. What's your response to what I said the other day? You know...when I said I liked you."

' _I'm honestly surprised she was as patient as she was with me about this.'_ Izuku never took his off of Mina's while he was in thought. He could tell from the look on her face that this had been eating at her. "First of all; thank you. What you did, pretending that things were still normal between us, gave me a sense of normalcy I needed leading up to today. Despite that normalcy though everytime we ended a conversation I found myself frustrated. Frustrated that I couldn't tell you what I was really wanted to.

Mina had inched towards the edge of her seat, and was feeling hopeful. "And what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"T-that I l-l-like you." Izuku closed his eyes so he could finish what he wanted to say. "That I felt like an ass when I realized that I never said it back that night. You said that I was all you could think about, and I felt the same about you. Even when I was fighting Muscular _you_ were the first thing to pop into my mind when things got bad." He carefully opened one eye to see how she was taking his confession.

Mina had a shaky smile, like she was embarrassed by how happy she felt. She was also redder than Izuku had ever seen her. Before he could observe more Mina had leapt from the chair, and put him into a crushing hug. She wasn't say anything, but he could hear a happy high pitched giggling coming from her. Slowly he returned the hug, making sure to keep his hands in appropriate places, and Mina tightened her's in response.

"So what d-do we do next?" This was new and confusing to Izuku. He was still getting used to having friends in general, and now he was going out with someone.

"Well for now I want to stay like this. Are you okay with that?" Mina was aware just how unused to displays of affection Izuku was, and the last thing she wanted to do was push his limits. Eventually, yes, but it could wait. Izuku responded by giving her a gentle squeeze. "After that...why change what we've been doing. If it ain't broke why fix it."

Izuku couldn't argue with that logic.

* * *

Things settled into an easy routine for the two heroes in training. If they weren't hanging out with their own friends they could be found in one of their rooms. Reactions from their friends when they announced their relationship were positive. Some had been surprised they weren't _already_ going out; having assumed they had been going out for since before the camping trip. Tooru had not so subtly said it was 'about damn time.'

During their super move training for the upcoming hero license exam they were both able push each other forward. With his detailed notes Izuku was able to provide Mina with new applications for her acid, and provided detailed notes on how she could improve her already impressive flexibility.

Once Izuku had remembered he could use his legs instead of his arms; Mina had provided several kick based moves he could incorporate. With the running form shown to him by Iida and Mina's moves, Izuku decided to dub his new technique 'shoot style.' Mina had failed in convincing him to name it 'spinaroonie style.' If only because he hadn't been able to hit the dance move it referenced.

Currently Mina was lounging in the common room taking up an entire section of the sofa. They had been given the day off to allow their bodies to rest before the exam.

"Mina why are you taking up an entire sofa to yourself?" Mina craned her neck up to see the upside down face of Jirou staring down at her.

"Cause I'm bored duh." In an act of petulance Mina spread her arms and legs out to take up even more space.

Jirou shook her head and pushed Mina's arms out of her way, and took a seat. "Then why don't you bug your boyfriend. Where is he anyway?"

Mina smiled at the thought of Izuku, her boyfriend. Even a week later she didn't get tired of referring to him as such. "He went out for a run a couple hours ago ." Ever since he had switched to using his legs Izuku had found himself going for more runs to train them.

"Then stop acting like he's been gone for days."

"I am not. I'm just tired from all this super move training." The two stared each other down before cracking up.

"Have you figured out what to do for your 'official' first date?"

Jirou's question made Mina think. Izuku and her had decided to keep things on campus until after the license exam. After that though? She wasn't sure. "I'd like to take him dancing, but that might be too much for him. Maybe karaoke. Oh! Wait a minute. He showed me this beach the other day...yeah I think that will do the trick."

"A dance club is too much, but you in a bikini wouldn't be?" Jirou wasn't sure about her friends logic.

"Sure he handles us in our hero outfits well enough. Plus I'm not gonna spring some skimpy suit on him." The more Mina thought about it the more she liked the beach idea.

"Whatever you say." Jirou was still unconvinced.

Mina's text alarm went off causing the two to jump. The pink girl smiled when she saw the new nickname she had given Izuku pop up.

 **~Izu Izu~: Hey Mina, if you're not busy could you meet me over by the school gate? I'll be sitting on a bench under a tree. I've got a surprise for you!**

Curiosity peaked Mina leapt to her feet, gave Jirou a wave, and sped toward the dorm's entrance.

A few minutes later she was at the school's gates trying to spot where Izuku was sitting. Spotting him under a nice shady tree she called out to him. "Izu! Where's my surprise!"

Izuku laughed at her over eagerness, and lifted a bad while tapping the seat next to him. "While I was out on my run I saw that place we got those milkshakes, and they had a new flavor advertised. When I saw what it looked like I knew I needed to get it. Out from the bag he pulled two milkshakes and two straws.

Mina noticed right away what Izuku meant by the shakes being perfect. They had a layer of green on the bottom, a layer of pink on top, and black flecks mixed into it. "It's you and me! What flavor is it supposed to be?"

"It's supposed to be watermelon, but as you can see I got it cause of the colors. When I passed by the store it reminded me of when you brought me there. Then I got to thinking how date like that ended up being...it was probably when I first started to develop feeling for you. So I got these to well commemorate us becoming a couple.

Mina was touched by how thoughtful Izuku was. "Izuku you are just so adorable! Back then I was worried I was giving you the wrong idea. With how things worked out; I'm glad I made you drink from my milkshake."

' _I don't know how things will go from now on, but I'll always be glad I asked Izuku to help me study. It ended up having more perks than I ever expected.'_ Mina then put her head on Izuku's shoulder, and enjoyed their milkshakes in a comfortable silence.

* * *

AN: First of all for all of you that are still here I'm sorry for the incredibly long wait. I wanted this chapter out much much sooner, but every time I sat down to write nothing came out. Despite having the whole chapter planned out in my head I just didn't feel like writing. Thankfully that all changed and I regained my motivation. I learned a lot about what it takes to do a story that is more than just a one shot with this, and should I decide to do another one I am aware of my personal pit falls now. That all said I am proud of this short little story. It may have taken longer to finish, is very basic in presentation, but it's a complete multi chapter story. Hopefully a name drop isn't too cliche an ending though.

What's next for me? I have a couple ideas I am really hyped for. A third part of one of my existing stories, and a new chapter for Shades of Green that is very on the nose. In the mean time I do have a tumblr where I share just about anything I find interesting, you can find me at legendaryjellyfishfest.


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